Obamacare shock looms

April 28--WASHINGTON -- As the Supreme Court readies a ruling that could strip federal health care subsidies from millions of Americans, lawmakers are searching for ways to protect small businesses and their employees across the nation.

The Supreme Court has been asked to rule on the legality of federal health care exchanges used in 36 states. While the loss of coverage could be a crippling blow to some small businesses in those states, advocates say it could also provide lawmakers a chance to fix other flaws in the Obamacare law that have hurt employers in Massachusetts and 13 other states that set up their own exchanges.

"The outcome of the case could force the Obama administration and Congressional leaders to sit and find true compromises," said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, adding that the law prevents small business from getting the same health care subsidy rates as large businesses. "The ACA can work for everyone, but like we learned in Massachusetts under Romneycare, more reforms are necessary to protect and be fair to Main Street."

For those covered through the federal exchange, David Chase, national health care policy director at the advocacy group Small Business Majority, said, "This is a really big deal, because small business owners are self-employed and they rely on these subsidies."

Chase said a ruling against Obamacare "would create instability in the insurance marketplace" that could ripple into 14 state-exchange states. Roughly 8 million Americans in the other 36 states could be unable to afford health care premiums. If they drop out of the system, it could drive up costs for other enrollees, including those in Massachusetts.

Tomorrow, the Senate'sSmall Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will hear a panel of experts discuss steps lawmakers can take in the event the Supreme Court rules that the language of Obamacare bars individuals, who sign up for health care through the federal exchange states, to qualify for affordability subsidies.

Lawmakers have been scrambling to put legislative fixes in place ahead of the court ruling, expected in June. Last week Senate GOP leaders, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky signed on to a bill by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc) that would extend the federal subsidies through 2017 should the court rule against the administration.

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