The United States Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations will do all they can to not allow the U.S. Supreme Court to have the final say on the Obama Health Care Law that most Americans oppose. The high court surprised many people when it ruled on June 28 to uphold the law.
Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue said, “While we respect the Supreme Court’s decision, its ruling does not change the reality that the health care law is fundamentally flawed. Left unchanged it will cost many Americans their employer based health insurance, undermine job creation and raise health care cost for all.”
President and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business Dan Danner said, “Small business owners are going to face an onslaught of taxes and mandates, resulting in job loss and closed businesses. We will continue to fight for repeal of PPAC in the halls of Congress. Only with full repeal of PPACA’s will Congress have the ability to go back to the drawing board to craft real reform that makes reducing cost a number one priority.”
The harmful effect of the health care law has been discussed by leaders who represent manufacturers, retailers and franchisers. IFA President Steve Caldiera said, “While it may have been ruled constitutional the law is unworkable, unaffordable and wrong for small business owners.” He went on to say that 3.2 million jobs would be put at risk due to the employer mandate provision which forces employers with more than 50 fulltime employees to pay penalties if they do not provide coverage.
The U.S. House passed legislation on July 10 to repeal the health care law. Before the vote in the House Chamber Executive Vice President Bruce Josten wrote members of Congress urging them to support repeal of the law. The law does little to achieve one of the primary goals of health care reform. It imposes mandates and penalties on businesses that discourages job growth, increases taxes, cuts Medicare and creates requirements that will increase cost, he said in his letter to Congress members.
One of the Chamber members runs a family owned business that offers its 320 fulltime employees a limited benefit plan and pays 85 percent of the premium. However, most of the employees elect not to enroll choosing instead to take home more of their compensation in wages. The company pays a larger salary to employees who do not enroll in the plan.
The owner of the company says that the mandates scheduled to take effect in 2014 will eliminate the choice employees are given of health benefits or more dollars on their payroll checks. “For our company we will no longer have the option of providing these types of plans and our employees will no longer have the freedom to choose how to spend their wages,” the owner said.
According to the owner the company will either have to pay nearly $4,400 per employee for coverage that satisfies the mandate at a cost of nearly $1.4 million per year, stop offering coverage and pay $2,000 per fulltime employee in penalties at a cost of $640,000 yearly or put the staff on part-time jobs in order to avoid the penalties.
“These three options are not options that I can consider if I want to keep our company doors open,” the owner says. “It is a devil’s choice. No matter what we do our company and our employees are going to suffer,” the owner concluded.
Hopefully Chamber members and all other citizens will do what they can to get the Supreme Court to overturn this flawed Obama Health Care Law.
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