Legislative Update
Overall:
Both the U.S. House and Senate have introduced their versions of healthcare reform. Unfortunately, the respective bills fail to address the fundamental needs of the small business community in many ways.
The House has already passed their bill and Senate will move towards passage in the next few weeks. If the Senate is successful, both chambers will then have to combine their versions into one final bill. At that point, the combined bill will be voted on by both bodies for a final time.
President Obama and Congressional leaders are aiming to pass healthcare reform this year, but these timelines continue to move. The floor debate and amendment process will be critical in shaping the final piece of healthcare reform legislation that Congress will attempt to pass and send to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
House Update:
On November 7, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) was passed in a 220-215 vote. The bill is 1,990 pages long, includes an employer mandate in the form of a payroll tax on all employers with a payroll greater than $500,000 and an expensive public option. NFIB strongly opposes this legislation. Learn more about how this legislation will affect your business:
Senate Update:
On November 18, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," a 2,074 page bill that will be hotly debated in the U.S. Senate. What is immediately clear is this proposal fails to address the No.1 problem facing small business: the unsustainable cost of healthcare.
We oppose this costly and job killing legislation due to the amount of new taxes, the creation of new mandates, and the establishment of new entitlement programs it imposes upon small business owners and their employees.
Click here, to read NFIB's full statement on this bill.