Obamacare May Raise Premiums for Small Business Employees

The GOP has come out swinging against Obamacare after a report was released Friday from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services stating that 11 million small business employees may soon see their premiums climb. 

The report states that Obamacare’s requirement that premiums can no longer be based on a person’s age will gouge younger workers. Fox News reports 65 percent of small businesses will see their insurance premiums rise, citing The Wall Street Journal.

The report, which was actually due in 2011, was requested by House Speaker John Boehner, who said:

This is another punch in the gut for Americans already struggling in the president’s economy. It’s clear why the administration sought to delay and deemphasize the release of this report. It undermines the central promise of the president’s health care law: affordable coverage. These 11 million people who will see their premiums spike are 11 million more reasons to repeal this law and start over with common sense reform that will make care more affordable, not more costly.

House Small Business Committee Chairman Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) released a statement that said, “The fact that two-thirds of Americans who work at small businesses will see premium increases because of the health law is devastating news.” He continued, “This is one more in a long line of broken promises from President Obama and Washington Democrats.”

The report had no estimate of the premiums’ changes as a result of Obamacare, and it did not take into account factors such as tax credits that would encourage employers to offer health insurance coverage. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services stated that the report only covers three specific provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but there will be other factors.

Joanne Peters, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, protested, “Since the Affordable Care Act became law, health-care costs have been slowing and premium growth has slowed to the lowest rate in years. The law is making it easier for businesses to offer coverage.”