Changes

In 2016, small businesses that employ between 50 and 99 FTE employees will finally be subjected to the burden of the ACA’s employer mandates. Previously these firms were exempted from the mandate because of a transitional relief period offered to small businesses.However, starting in 2016 and onwards, more small business owners will have to figure out how to provide insurance to all of its full-time employees, and their dependents. [2] So while the insidious effects of the ACA on small businesses might have been concealed due to transitional reliefs and penalty delays, future years promise concrete data points on small business deaths, births, hiring, and firing practices that can be used for further analysis and policy evaluation.

The CBO and JCT forecasted that repealing the ACA would increase the number of uninsured non-elderly people by about 19 million in 2016 and by roughly 24 million in “all subsequent years through 2025, compared with the number who are projected to be uninsured under the ACA.” This amounts to an average annual increase of approximately 8 million, with coverage purchased individually or obtained through Medicaid falling by between 30 and 32 million. [5]