Health Reform Law Beginning to Work for Businesses, Families and the Economy
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Early evidence is showing that the nation’s health reform law is beginning to work to expand coverage and control costs for businesses and families and has not hindered the economic recovery, according to testimony received in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce today.
“The Affordable Care Act is now the law of the land and it is working,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the committee. “The new law has unquestionably begun to deliver positive results, for small businesses, large employers, individuals, children and families, and the elderly.”
“The health reform law is benefitting countless Americans at a time when many are struggling to find a quality job, get a steady pay check, or make ends meet in their business,” said Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J.). “This law is protecting millions of families and businesses nationwide from the unjust insurance company practices of the past. No longer can insurers discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions, make it harder for seniors to pay for their prescription drugs, or cut off benefits for families when they need them the most.”
Opponents of reform have claimed that the new law would hurt employers and the economy by increasing health care costs, impeding growth, and forcing employers to shed jobs and not create new ones. Evidence so far has yet to show this.
“Since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, 1.1 million private sector jobs have been created – more than the entire eight years of the Bush administration,” Miller said. “The IPO market is gaining momentum. Seven of the eleven companies going public last week were in health care related industries. The sky clearly hasn’t fallen as the result of the Affordable Care Act.”
In fact, a growing number of economists and health experts say that the long-term impact of the Affordable Care Act will benefit the economy and help businesses control their costs, increasing their competitiveness.
“Over the longer run, the health reform law will have many positive impacts on the economy,” said Paul Van De Water, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “The Affordable Care Act contains almost every cost-containment provision that policy analysts have considered effective in reducing the growth of medical spending. The law takes essential steps to slow the growth of health care costs, which are consuming an ever-increasing share of our economic output and have contributed significantly to the stagnation in workers’ real wages in recent years.”
Small businesses are also beginning to take advantage of the provisions of the new law that help them offer coverage to their workers. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that the number of small businesses offering insurance increased by 30 percent last year.
In addition, starting in 2014, small and medium sized businesses will be able to pool together in state-based health insurance exchanges to improve choices and drive down costs, just the way large companies do today.
“Our research also shows that absent reform, these costs would continue to escalate, undermining small businesses’ success and our economic recovery,” said founder and CEO of the Small Business Majority John Arensmeyer in testimony submitted for the hearing. “Along with small business tax credits and insurance exchanges, the ACA controls costs by reining in administrative costs for small businesses.”
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