NASE Responds to President Obama on Health Care Law

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NASE Responds to President Obama on Health Care Law

Now is the Time to Put America’s Self-Employed on a Level Playing Field with Big Business

 WASHINGTON – As President Barack Obama delivered a statement today on the new health care reform law and a day after the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to delay both the employer and individual mandate requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) – the nation’s leading resource and advocate for the self-employed and micro-businesses – today offered the following comments:  

“While we commend the President for trying to provide access to affordable health care to all Americans, the truth is that the small business community will see costs rise significantly despite enhanced coverage,” said Kristie Arslan, NASE’s President and CEO. “We overwhelming supported yesterday’s delay in the individual mandate requirement because it will allow for more robust education about how millions of Americans will purchase coverage in the new health care marketplace without fear of penalty.  The new system is not yet ready to run efficiently or effectively. There is still incomplete and missing information.”

Yesterday, the NASE spearheaded a joint letter delivered to every member of the U.S. Congress supporting the delay, which was also signed by other associations and organizations representing the small business community.

“Delaying the individual mandate penalty would provide for a fair and equitable framework for all businesses, small and large, to work from.  The Exchange marketplaces will still open on October 1, 2013, but the one-year delay would relieve the pressure on millions of small businesses and allow them to make the best choices for themselves, their families, and employees. It only makes sense to give America’s smallest businesses the same opportunity as big businesses by allowing for additional time for education about the new law,” concluded Arslan. 

The NASE recently released its Affordable Care Act in Brief that highlights how the new health care law will impact 22-million self-employed and micro-businesses nationwide. It outlines the pros and cons of health care coverage small businesses must consider while underlining the lack of information in the public domain about the health care law, the Exchanges and details of enrollment requirements.

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The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the nation's leading resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, bringing a broad range of benefits to help entrepreneurs succeed and to drive the continued growth of this vital segment of the American economy. The NASE Small Business Locator helps identify and connect our nation’s smallest businesses. The NASE is a 501(c) (6) nonprofit organization and provides big-business advantages to hundreds of thousands of micro-businesses across the United States. For more information, visit the association's website at NASE.org