In the aftermath of the House passing a nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul, the U.S. Chamber vowed to keep fighting and educating business owners on the potential impact of the legislation.
“The Chamber will work through all available avenues–regulatory, legislative, legal, and political–to fix the bill’s flaws and minimize its potentially harmful impacts,” Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue said in a March 21 statement available here.
Donohue also warned that the Chamber would remind voters about the House vote during the upcoming elections. “Through the largest issue advocacy and voter education program in our history, we will encourage citizens to hold their elected officials accountable when they choose a new Congress this November.”
Employer Mandate
In the weeks and days leading up to the House vote, the Chamber repeatedly expressed concerns with the Senate bill and the accompanying reconciliation bill. Specifically, the Chamber opposes a penalty of up to $2,000 per employee for employers that do not offer affordable health insurance and have 50 or more full-time employees, and a $3,000 penalty if a worker receives a subsidy to purchase individual coverage. In addition, the legislation penalizes an employer that offers the required minimum qualifying coverage but whose employees choose not to enroll in the plan. An employer would be required to offer a voucher to qualifying employees (based on the federal poverty level) equal to what it pays for the plan.
Taxes and Fees
The Chamber opposes a 40% “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health plans that will take effect in 2018. The number of Americans that will ultimately suffer from this hidden tax will mushroom each year because the tax is indexed to inflation–the growth in the Consumer Price Index–rather than to the much higher growth rate of healthcare costs. In the end, this new tax will ensnare a growing number of Americans, much like the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
The Chamber is also critical of provisions to increase Medicare payroll taxes and impose a new 3.8% “Medicare tax” on non-wage income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and some profits from investments in partnerships and S-corporations. If this tax and other tax increases included in the President’s FY 2011 budget become law, certain taxpayers could expect a marginal tax rate on capital gains and qualified dividends of 23.8%, and a marginal tax rate on nonqualified dividends of 43.4%. This tax is not indexed for inflation and will have an insidious, AMT-like affect.
Moreover, insurance companies, medical device makers, and drug manufacturers must each pay billions of dollars in taxes and fees. The Congressional Budget Office says that these taxes will ultimately be paid by consumers.
The Chamber will continue to promote reform that curbs costs, improves wellness, reins in frivolous lawsuits, expands consumer choice, and removes the inefficient heavy hand of government from decisions that should only be made by doctors and patients. “We are prepared to work with the administration, Congress, governors, companies and their employees, and the medical community on real health care reform that improves quality, choice, and access for all Americans,” Donohue says.
