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The Affordable Care Act and Small Business (view source)
Revision as of 11:26, 24 March 2017
, 11:26, 24 March 2017no edit summary
{{BlogPost
|TitleHas title=The Affordable Care Act and Small Business|AuthorHas author=Meghana Gaur|Content Has content status=In DevelopmentTabled|Has Graphics status=None}}{{McNair Projects|Project Title= The Affordable Care Act and Small Business (Blog post),|Topic Area=Entrepreneurship, Social Factors in Entrepreneurship, Health Care,|Owner=Meghana Gaur,|Start Term=Fall 2016,|End Term=n/a,|Status=Active|Stage=DRAFTED,|Deliverable=Blog Post,|Audience=General Public,|Primary BillingHas processing notes=AccMcNair01,Tabled pending further information about possible ACA replacement.
}}
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. Together, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) transformed the existing healthcare system in the United States by instituting reforms to increase the quality, affordability, and accessibility of insurance coverage and expand Medicaid. [https://www.cbo.gov/topics/health-care/affordable-care-act]
==How has the ACA affected small business hiring practices?==
The more readily available effects of the ACA on small businesses are on employees. Some small businesses report slowing or halting their hiring practices and cutting employees’ hours. In 2012, two years after the introduction of the ACA, Gallup and Wells Fargo conducted a survey of 600 small business owners. The survey revealed that 48 percent of small business owners pointed to "potential healthcare costs" as a reason for not hiring more employees.[http://www.gallup.com/poll/152654/health-costs-gov-regulations-curb-small-business-hiring.aspx]
According to another survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management of more than 600 small business owners, more than four out of ten small business owners have delayed hiring due to uncertainty about the effects of the ACA. One in five small business owners reported that they have cut their number of employees.[http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st356]
However, the government delayed penalties for small businesses that employed between 50 and 99 employees until 2016, as a transitional relief from the employer mandate. In 2016, these small businesses will be for the first time subjected to the burden of the ACA’s employer mandates.
Going forward, these small business owners may be forced to purchase insurance coverage for their employees from a market that continues to hike up premium rates. While the long-term effects of the Affordable Care Act on small businesses remain largely unknown, policymakers should adopt prudent and necessary measures in order to mitigate increased healthcare costs for small businesses.
==Link to Google Doc==
14. http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st356
[[Category:Small Business]]
