Newsline

ABC along with a group of business organizations, March 31sent a letter to Senate and House Leadership sharing their support of a bipartisan proposal that would repeal the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) statutory cap on deductibles for health plans in the small group market. In addition, ABC sent a letter April 1 to the U.S. House of Representatives in support of the Save American Workers Act (H.R. 2575), which would replace ACA’s definition of “full time” as 30 hours or more per week with the traditional definition of 40 hours.

In the joint letter,  ABC and several business groups expressed their support to Senate Majority Leader Reid and House Speaker Boehner for Section 213 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, which would repeal ACA’s statutory cap on deductibles for small group health plans. The letter encouraged Leader Reid and Speaker Boehner to retain section 213 in the final bill sent to President Obama. 

The ACA caps the maximum deductible for small group health plans at $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for a family. If the cap is imposed, small businesses would be forced to raise premiums, increase copays, or strip benefits to comply with the cap. According to ABC’s 2013 employee benefits survey, 35 percent of ABC contractors with fewer than 50 employees have deductibles that exceed $2,000 for an individual.

In the April 1 letter sent to the House, ABC expressed their support of H.R. 2575 and increasing the threshold to 40 hours per week for full-time employment in order to avert market disruptions and restore flexibility to employers and workers alike. The letter cited that under ACA’s current 30-hour rule, many employers will be forced to reduce employee work hours and wages. Further, it strips employers of all flexibility in structuring workforce options that meet the needs of their employees.

To learn more about the health care law, please visit ABC’s Employer Health Care Law Toolkit .