Contact: Bill G. Smith 608-255-6083 or Jason Brewer (202) 406-4435
Madison, WI, Nov. 6, 2009—The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as Saturday on healthcare reform that would hurt Wisconsin’s small businesses, said Bill G. Smith, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business.
“Healthcare is the No. 1 challenge facing small business in Wisconsin,” Smith said.
“Our members want reform, but they want reform that makes healthcare more accessible and more affordable for themselves, their employees and their families,” he said.
“The mis-named Affordable Health Care for America Act doesn’t do that,” Smith said. “All it does is increase costs, limit choices and kill competition.
“Small business owners in Wisconsin are deeply concerned about the devastating impact the House bill would have on their businesses, their employees and the overall economic recovery,” he said.
“H.R. 3962 is literally the ‘how to’ on how NOT to do healthcare reform,” Smith said. “No one needs healthcare reform more than small businesses, but so-called reform that increases costs for small businesses, taxes jobs and eliminates healthcare options currently available to small employers is simply unacceptable.”
Small businesses in Wisconsin employee 53.4 percent of the state’s private-sector workforce according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. NFIB/Wisconsin is the state’s leading small business association, with more than 10,000 members statewide.
“Instead of making health insurance more accessible and affordable for small business, H.R. 3962 imposes more costs through its expensive employer mandates, punitive payroll taxes and a new government-run program– all of which will only result in more money coming out of small business owners’ pockets,” Smith said.
“We urge Wisconsin’s elected representatives to side with small business owners and vote NO on H.R. 3962,” he said. “Unless healthcare is fixed for small business, it won’t be fixed for America.”
