Political Quotes

“Mr. President, for much of this Congress, I have been working on a bipartisan basis to correct a little understood provision in the Affordable Care Act, ACA, that punishes small businesses for attempting to help their employees purchase individual insurance. That is right, this provision actually punishes businesses that want to do the right thing and help their employees obtain health insurance coverage. This is a result of so-called market reforms in the ACA, which based on IRS guidance generally prohibit employers from reimbursing their employees for the cost of health insurance the employee purchases on the individual market. An employer who does do this faces a $100 a day per employee penalty. This fails to meet the common sense test, particularly when it comes to farmers, ranchers, and small business owners who frequently do not have the resources to offer a traditional group health plan to their employees. These businesses have no obligation under the ACA to offer any form of insurance. However, they would like to do what they can to help their employees obtain coverage. This is a practice that should be commended, not penalized. This is why last June 1 introduced the Small Business Health Care Relief Act with Senator Heitkamp. Under our bill, small businesses would once again be able to do something many have done for years. Namely, reimburse their employees on a pre-tax basis for the purchase of health insurance on the individual market.…”