A Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act doesn't end the uncertainty it was supposed to and will hamper investment and hiring, small business owners say.
Many small business owners have said they would expand once uncertainty surrounding the massive healthcare sector overhaul concluded, but the court's decision doesn't answer questions as to how the overhaul will affect business decisions.
“At this point, I have more questions than I have answers,” says Larry Mocha, president of Air Power Systems in Tulsa, Okla., according to CNBC.
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“We already provide health insurance for our employees and have for many years. How will this impact our premiums? How will this impact [America’s] healthcare system? And how will this impact my small business?”
The ruling will require individuals to pay for health insurance or pay a tax if they don't, while businesses with 50 employees or more will have to provide insurance for those workers or face taxes as well.
“This decision sustains the uncertainty they currently have,” says Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association, CNBC adds.
“The impending costs of healthcare do not give business owners confidence to open that extra store or to hire more people and create the economic output our country needs.”
Other small business leaders say they won't hire but will rely on temporary workers instead when running their businesses.
"The government is rewarding and encouraging businesses to remain 50 people or less to avoid the total payment of high health insurance premiums," says David Greenspon, CEO of Competitive Edge in Des Moines, Iowa.
Greenspon, which employs 150 people, expects the ruling to increase his healthcare costs by $500,000, CNBC adds.
The decision also won't end the debate on the government's role in healthcare, which might not bode well for President Barack Obama.
"Winners celebrate and losers mobilize," says George Edwards, a presidential scholar at Texas A&M University, according to McClatchy Newspapers.
"This puts healthcare back in the center of the debate where it hasn’t been since it passed, and that’s not necessarily good for him."
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