Update: On July 2, the Obama administration announced that it would delay the employer coverage mandate until 2015 to provide businesses with more time to comply with its reporting requirements.
Almost half of the country’s small business owners predict the Affordable Care Act is going to be bad for their business, according to a Gallup poll released this month.
In a survey of 603 small business owners conducted April 1 through April 5, Gallup researchers found that 48% of the owners surveyed said health reform changes would be bad for their business, compared with 9% who said it would be good and 39% who expect no change.
About four in 10 owners said they were postponing hiring and growth plans, and about one in five said they were laying off employees or cutting workers’ hours. Gallup officials said the survey suggests the ACA could be a significant drag on the U.S. economy over the short term.
How about in California, where the state’s new health insurance exchange — Covered California — is scheduled next month to announce insurers and premium prices in the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchange?
We asked stakeholders to assess the mood of small business owners In California.
We got responses from:
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