In a letter highlighting their support for repeal of the Democrats’ health care law, a coalition representing the country's largest, oldest and most respected small business associations, including the Associated Builders and Contractors, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Restaurant Association, the Printing Industries of America, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, warn that the health care law impedes hiring and growth.  Urging Congress to take action to overturn the law, the groups noted that if the law remains in place, the small business community will be forced to divert resources away from hiring and expanding their business – the very investments our country so desperately needs during a time when the unemployment rate has remained above 9 percent for 20 consecutive months:

“This law is loaded with new mandates, new taxes and perverse incentives that will forever harm the workplace and the relationship between employers and their employees.”

Specific provisions highlighted by the Small Business Coalition for Affordable Healthcare as threatening economic growth include:

• An employer mandate that encourages job cuts, not job creation;
• New taxes on small business health insurance plans;
• Onerous 1099 paperwork information reporting mandates; 
• Higher insurance costs due to new mandated benefits; 
• Increases in Medicare payroll taxes;      
• New taxes, fees and mandates specifically targeted at the small business community; and
• Prohibitions on HSAs, FSAs and HRAs that limit employer and employee flexibility and drive up health care costs.

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