Research

Gallup Poll Finds That Nearly Half Of Small Businesses Aren’t Hiring Due To Health Care Costs And Government Regulation. “Almost half of small-business owners in the U.S. who are not hiring new employees say worries about the potential cost of health care and new government regulations are the reasons they are not hiring, according to a new Gallup Poll released Wednesday.” (MJ Lee, “Poll: Entrepreneurs Fear Health Costs,” Politico, 2/15/12)

Which Is Not Surprising Because Health Care Costs Have Surged

 “The Cost Of Health Insurance For Many Americans This Year Climbed More Sharply Than In Previous Years, Outstripping Any Growth In Workers’ Wages And Adding More Uncertainty About The Pace Of Rising Medical Costs.” (Reed Abelson, “U.S. Health Insurance Cost Rises Sharply, Study Finds,” The New York Times, 9/27/11)

• Six Of Ten Americans Are Seeing Higher Insurance Premiums.  “Many say they are feeling the impact:  six of 10 people with private insurance are seeing higher premiums; half cite increases in their co-pays and deductibles.” (Jordan Rau, “Poll Finds Americans Gloomy On Some Promises In Health Law, Kaiser Health News, 7/28/11)

Kaiser Study Found That Costs Of Family Coverage “Climbed” 9 Percent In 2011. “The average cost of a family policy climbed 9 percent in 2011 to $15,073, according to a poll of 2,088 private companies and state and local government agencies by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park, California, and the Chicago- based American Hospital Association’s Health Research and Educational Trust.” (Jeffrey Young, “Health-Benefit Costs Rise Most In Six Years,” Bloomberg, 9/27/11)

• Workers Paid An Average Of $132 More For Family Coverage In 2011 Than They Did In 2010. “Although premiums rose, employers kept the percentage of the premium workers pay about the same: An average of 18 percent for single coverage and 28 percent for family plans. Still, with rising costs, workers paid more, up an average of $132 a year for family coverage. Since 1999, the dollar amount workers contribute toward premiums nationally has grown 168 percent, while their wages have grown by 50 percent, according to the survey.” (Julie Appleby, “Cost Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News, 9/27/11)

Factcheck.org: ObamaCare Is Actually Making Health Care “Less Affordable.” “At the moment, the new law is making health care slightly less affordable. Independent health care experts say the law has caused some insurance premiums to rise. As we wrote in October, the new law has caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans because of requirements for increased benefits. Last year’s premium increases cast even more doubt on another promise the president has made — that the health care law would ‘lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.’” (D’Angelo Gore, “Promises, Promises,” Factcheck.org, 1/4/12)

• The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker: “Moreover, at this point it is debatable whether the law has made health care more affordable. Insurance premiums have gone up, in part because of new benefits mandated by the law.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Fine Print In Obama’s ‘Promises Kept’ Ad,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 1/6/12)

“The Lack Of Clarity About The Cost Implications” Of ObamaCare Is An Impediment For Companies To Begin Hiring. “In addition to slow and uncertain revenue growth, contacts in this recovery are frequently citing a number of other factors that are impeding hiring.  Prominent among these is the lack of clarity about the cost implications of the recent health care legislation.” (Dennis Lockhart, “Business Feedback On Today’s Labor Market,” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, 11/11/10)

And ObamaCare’s Regulations Are Hurting Small Business

ObamaCare’s Regulations Are Preventing Small Businesses From Expanding. “The new law requires most businesses to provide a generous ‘essential’ package of benefits, which is beyond what many small businesses provide today. It subjects businesses to highly complex rules that increase the cost risk, and ‘hassle factor’ of adding payrolls. Companies that do offer insurance can be fined if low-income employees take a government-subsidized plan. All firms with more than 50 workers must provide benefits, which creates an incentive for smaller firms to stay ‘under the limit’ by expanding overseas, outsourcing, or dividing into two companies.” (UBS, “Great Suppression II,” UBS Investment Research, 9/19/11)

74 Percent Of Small Business Owners Blame ObamaCare For Hurting Job Creation. “As part of the explanation for the general economic pessimism, 78 percent of small businesses believe that taxation, regulation and legislation from Washington make it harder for businesses to hire more employees — and 74 percent blame the recent health care reforms passed by the Obama administration for creating an impediment to job creation.” (Tim Mak, “Chamber Poll: Small Biz Blames D.C.,” Politico, 1/18/12)

• ObamaCare Is Leading To “Fewer Jobs.” “What is the impact of regulation and the new healthcare law? Fewer jobs. Seventy-eight percent of small businesses surveyed report the taxation, regulation and legislation from Washington makes it harder for their business to hire. And, 74% say the recent health care law makes it more difficult to hire additional employees.” (“Small Business Community Quarterly Survey,” US Chamber Of Commerce, 1/18/12)

“ObamaCare Has Already Added Over 6,500 Pages Of Regulations To The Federal Register.”  (Brian Blase, “ObamaCare:  The One Year Checkup,” The Heritage Foundation, 3/17/11)

• Just Six Pages Of ObamaCare Spawned 429 Pages Of New HHS-Issued Regulations. (Paul Beddard, “6 Pages Of Obamacare Equals 429 Pages Of Regulations,” US News & World Report, 4/7/11)

ObamaCare Leaves Bureaucrats With “Substantial Responsibility And Authority To ‘Fill In The Details’ Of The Legislation Through Subsequent Regulations.” (Curtis W. Copeland, “Regulations Pursuant To The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Research Service, 4/13/10)