by Ray Hayes
The repeal of the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare is currently underway with the Republican replacement aiming to fix the ills of the previous health care policy. While GOPCare aims to fix the individual market while also reducing the debt by cutting Medicaid payment to states, there are still some pitfalls with the new proposed health care plan. Jay Green from the Crain’s Detroit Business pointed these out. According to Green, “…the proposed American Health Care Act would also eventually gut many of the Affordable Care Act’s cost-containment programs, many affecting ongoing pilot programs in Michigan, reduce public health funding and eliminate recent boosts in Medicaid mental health funding and preventive care, among other lesser reported and discussed possible impacts.”
Below are a few ways Green thinks the new health care plan could impact small businesses.
- Tax credits of up to 35 percent of health care costs for small businesses with fewer than 25 employees in 2020 will be deleted under the AHCA. In 2014, roughly 181,000 employees claimed the tax credit. With a repeal of the small business tax, the federal government would be saving $6 billion while small businesses would be losing $6 billion vice versa which helped them pay for health insurance for their employees
- Fewer companies will offer health insurance as result of decreased incentives
- By 2020 it is estimated that at least 2 million fewer people will have employer sponsored health care. The number will increase to 7 million by 2026
- Senior VP of the SBA of Michigan Scott Lyon states that “AHCA’s repeal of Obamacare taxes, which include the tax on health insurance premiums, medical device tax, tanning tax and Medicare Part D tax on individuals and businesses with more than $250,000 income, might help small businesses of less than 100 employees”
