WRITTEN STATEMENT BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS TAX POLICY SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING ON
“TAX REFORM AND SMALL BUSINESSES: GROWING OUR ECONOMY AND CREATING JOBS”
May 23, 2018
Small Business Majority CEO John Arensmeyer testifies before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions on how the U.S. Department of Labor's proposed changes to association health plans could hurt the small group market for health insurance.
Small Business Majority voiced opposition against the proposed rule change that would permit insurers to sell “short-term” health insurance plans that provide coverage for up to 364 days, well beyond the three months currently permitted by the Affordable Care Act. Short-term health insurance is meant to fill a gap in an individual’s coverage in the instance of job loss or other life change.
Testimony before the Joint Economic Committee Hearing on “Breaking through the Regulatory Barrier: What Red Tape Means for the Innovation Economy”
May 22, 2018
Jessica A. Milano
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Small Business, Community Development, and Housing Policy
U.S. Department of the Treasury
On October 3, Small Business Majority CEO John Arensmeyer testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on "Expanding Opportunities for Small Businesses Through the Tax Code." The testimony offered proactive solutions for tax reform to encourage entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses, including ways the Opportunity Zones program can be targeted to benefit small businesses.
Small Business Majority writes regarding the proposed changes to the definition of an “employer,” which would broaden the criteria for when employers are able to join association health plans (or AHPs).
Scientific opinion polling shows freelancers and self-employed entrepreneurs are doing reasonably well financially in the post-recession economy, but many are not able to save for retirement. As a result, they support portable retirement vehicles that address the flexible nature of their work.
Health insurance exchanges are the most important component of healthcare reform for small businesses. These marketplaces will allow small businesses and individuals to band together to purchase insurance, which will lower their healthcare costs and allow more of them and their employees to get quality healthcare coverage.
In March 2011, Small Business Majority and Pacific Community Ventures (PCV) released the results of a survey, commissioned by PCV, of 804 California small business owners with fewer than 20 employees on key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. It found that small business owners who currently don’t offer health insurance, along with those who do, are more likely to provide or continue to provide coverage because of the healthcare tax credits and state insurance exchange.
More than any other sector of the economy, small business suffers from our broken healthcare system. From spiraling premium costs to inadequate access to quality healthcare for themselves and their employees, small business owners have seen their prospects for growth diminished and their profits slashed by today's patchwork of inefficient healthcare options.
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