The following is a statement by John Arensmeyer, founder & CEO of Small Business Majority, on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling today upholding the Affordable Care Act.
June 28, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling today upholding the Affordable Care Act is a victory for small business owners who have struggled with the excessively high cost of health insurance for decades. The Affordable Care Act tackles small business owners’ top priorities when it comes to healthcare reform: cost and accessibility. The law will significantly rein in costs while providing more health coverage options for entrepreneurs.
Our opinion polling has found that small businesses support the law, believe healthcare reform is needed to fix the economy and they support key provisions, particularly the healthcare exchanges and tax credits. Many components of the law, including rate review and the Medical Loss Ratio provision, have already resulted in lower premium costs for small employers. It also help ends “job lock,” where a prospective entrepreneur who has a preexisting medical condition cannot leave their job, launch a new company or help grow the economy because they are locked in their job for health benefits. And in 2014 the law calls for health insurance exchanges to be set up in every state, which will do even more to curb costs and boost choice. State lawmakers who have blocked implementation must now step up to the plate and work with local small businesses to establish these new competitive marketplaces.
The political circus that has surrounded this law for the past two years hasn’t done anything to help small business owners struggling with high costs. Today’s ruling lets us get back to what’s important: implementing the law and getting small business owners the financial relief they’ve been waiting for.
Small Business Majority is a national small business advocacy organization, founded and run by small business owners, to support America’s 28 million small businesses. The organization conducts extensive opinion and economic research and work with a rapidly growing network of small business owners across the country to ensure their voices are an integral part of the public policy debate. It also hosts the Health Coverage Guide, an independent, unbiased source of information for small businesses about health coverage options. For more information, visit smallbusinessmajority.org.