Health Care Reform - Proposed Provisions Would Hurt Employers and Employees
Major, wide-ranging legislation attempting to change the way Americans receive their health care is being rushed through Congress as a top priority of the Obama administration. While ABC supports health care system reforms that would increase access to coverage and lower costs, the proposals being considered would only hurt small businesses and the construction industry at large. Even the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has made clear that the proposals put forth by the majority in Congress would not reduce costs. In fact, they will likely cause further damage to the U.S. health care system and economy with a price tag exceeding $1 trillion, requiring billions of dollars in new taxes on American taxpayers and small business owners.
This is one of the most important legislative debates many Americans will see in their lifetimes. If signed into law, these health care proposals will profoundly impact the way in which Americans access health care coverage. Health care decisions currently made by patients and their doctors will be put into the hands of government bureaucrats. Placing these potentially life or death decisions into the hands of an untrained bureaucrat in Washington, D.C. is not what American’s deserve. In addition, these proposals will jeopardize the solvency of private health care plans that currently work for millions of Americans, and once a government-run health plan is imposed, it will never go away.
Key concerns ABC has with the proposals are:
- employer mandates: a “pay or play” provision that would result in premium increases and more expensive insurance for employers and employees;
- a government-run public insurance option that would unfairly compete with private providers;
- an income “surtax” that would fall directly on the shoulders of small businesses;
- a dramatic increase in the national debt; and
- placing government bureaucrats in charge of health care decisions.
The proposed plans would increase the national debt, jeopardize the health coverage Americans already have, and cripple the ability of small businesses to compete—not the kind of change the United States needs as the national debt spirals out of control.
Make your voice heard on this issue by reaching out to your representatives in the House and Senate during their scheduled August district work period.
