NSBA Weighs-in on Health Care Proposals

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- The National Small Business Association issued the following news release:

The National Small Business Association (NSBA) today weighed-in on Congressional Republicans' proposed legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In its detailed letter, NSBA underscored the need for a number of key improvements to rein-in the cost of health care, including eliminating the employer mandate, revamping health care taxes, adjusting rating rules and ensuring greater transparency and quality.

"Over the last five years, 68 percent of small businesses report health insurance cost increases exceeding 20 percent," stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. "Reducing the high cost of health care on small businesses is NSBA's number-one priority, and something that must be dealt with responsibly."

NSBA urged the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees to retain language in any legislation approved by their committees that would: end the employer mandate; eliminate the Health Insurance Tax; expand Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts; and increase the rating ratio from 3:1 to 5:1. The letter warned against efforts to limit the employer deduction for health insurance as well as the inclusion of the so-called Cadillac tax--even if in a delayed format.

While the proposals introduced this week do make some important changes, Congress must take additional steps to address the drivers of health care costs. NSBA cited several key principles that will need to be addressed as part of a broad health reform designed to reduce costs, including transparency in pricing and quality outcomes, utilization of electronic health records, publicly available procedure costs in plain language, pay-for-performance initiatives and efforts to curb defensive medicine.

Please click here (http://www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NSBA_Health-Care_Repeal-and-Replace_Letter.pdf) to read the letter.

Celebrating 80 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America's entrepreneurs. NSBA's 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S. Please visit www.nsba.biz or follow us at @NSBAAdvocate.

[Category: Business]

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