Obama Care - Impact on Small Business Employers

The Projected Impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Small Business Employers

Stephanie Pankey

University of Mississippi

The Projected Impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Small Business Employers

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) 2010 is federal legislation that is commonly referred to as Obamacare and was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. A final decision upholding the health care law was rendered by the Supreme Court on June 18, 2012, thereby opening the pathway to its implementation. The law consists of two parts: the Affordable Care Act and the Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Gruber, 2011). The act is the most significant reform in the U.S insurance system of the last 45 years.

Among its provisions, the ACA transforms the non-group insurance, expands public insurance, subsidizes private insurance coverage, mandates that most citizens have insurance coverage, introduces various new taxes to raise revenue, and reduces and reorganizes spending under the national health plan, and under Medicare, among other changes (Gruber, 2011). The significant changes outlined in the act make projections on its impact challenging. Nonetheless, such projections are necessary in justifying the legislative process. Various provisions of the act are projected to portend having a significant impact on small businesses and small business employers.

In this paper, a broad review of the ACA is provided, followed by a highlighting of the sections of the Affordable Care Act that may impact small businesses. A detailed synopsis and analysis of the projected impact of the act on small businesses is provided including the pros and cons of its effect on small business employers.

Overview of the Affordable Care Act

According to Gruber (896), the core of the ACA is a “three-legged stool” that denotes the three areas...