House Vote to Repeal Healthcare Reform Jeopardizes Small Business Survival

The House of Representatives passage today of legislation aimed at repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a giant step backwards for America's small businesses. Repealing the Affordable Care Act would deny small businesses many of the benefits the law provides, including small business tax credits and insurance exchanges. Today's vote is political posturing that will do nothing to create jobs and help small businesses thrive. In fact, it will do the opposite.

Repealing the ACA would send America's 28 million small businesses back into a system that drains their coffers and threatens their ability to compete. We released an analysis that shows that without reform small business owners would pay nearly $2.4 trillion in healthcare costs over the next 10 years, and $52.1 billion in small business profits and 178,000 small business jobs would be lost as a result of high premiums.

Despite opponents' rhetoric, the ACA will lower small business owners' costs and help them and their employees gain access to high-quality healthcare. According to a national opinion survey we released on Jan. 4, one-third of small employers who currently don't offer their workers insurance say the tax credits and exchanges will make them more likely to do so. What's more, major insurance companies across the country are reporting significant increases in the number of small businesses providing their employees with benefits because of the tax credits.

With so much at stake, now is not the time to force small employers back into a broken system. Instead of rehashing old debates we should focus on implementing provisions of the ACA that will lower small businesses healthcare costs, help them grow their businesses and stimulate the economy. Small business owners deserve better, and expect more, than partisan gamesmanship.