CMS Rule Limiting ACA Marketplace Enrollment, Eligibility Will Harm Small Businesses
Statement from Small Business Majority Founder & CEO John Arensmeyer on why small businesses will be impacted by sweeping changes to eligibility and enrollment standards for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace
“A rule finalized late last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will make it more costly and more difficult for small businesses and their employees to access healthcare coverage. Under the new rule, the open enrollment period for the ACA Marketplace will be shorter and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients will be excluded from purchasing coverage through the Marketplace.
In its decision, CMS has failed to recognize the degree to which small business owners and their employees rely on the ACA Marketplace for quality health insurance. More than half of all ACA Marketplace enrollees are small business owners, self-employed entrepreneurs or small business employees. In 2022 alone, 2.7 million small business owners and 1.7 million self-employed entrepreneurs received coverage through the Marketplace, accounting for 28 percent of all Marketplace enrollees. What’s more, data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury also found that small business owners and self-employed entrepreneurs are three times more likely to rely on Marketplace coverage than other working-age Americans.
CMS’s decision will also disproportionately harm the estimated 12,000 DACA recipients who own their own business. Stripping access to affordable healthcare coverage from these individuals will negatively impact their economic well being, make it more difficult for them to remain small business owners and restrict DACA recipients who do not yet own a business from starting one in the future.
Small businesses across the country continue to cite healthcare costs as a major barrier to growth, which is why we urge CMS to prioritize expanding access to affordable coverage options instead of imposing new limitations on the ACA Marketplace. Policymakers who are serious about supporting small businesses and expanding jobs on Main Street must acknowledge the relationship between entrepreneurial growth and the ACA Marketplace. Without access to quality, affordable healthcare small businesses simply cannot flourish in the United States.”
About Small Business Majority
Small Business Majority is a national small business organization that empowers America's diverse entrepreneurs to build a thriving and equitable economy. We engage our network of more than 85,000 small businesses and 1,500 business and community organizations to advocate for public policy solutions and deliver resources to entrepreneurs that promote equitable small business growth. Our deep connections with the small business community along with our scientific research enable us to educate the public about key issues impacting America’s entrepreneurs, with a special focus on advancing the smallest businesses and those facing systemic inequalities. Learn more about us on our website and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
