The National Federation of Independent Business, which opposed the Affordable Care Act,
said the House legislation was “a crucial first step toward health care reform.”
In other people’s view, employees of small businesses would lose out if Medicaid were rolled back or the exchanges became threadbare,
because many smaller companies rely on employees’ ability to obtain coverage through the government program or individual market.
The bill would allow states to waive some of the current rules banning insurers from charging sick people more or excluding certain benefits,
and those waivers could have broad effects if employers are no longer required to provide comprehensive coverage.
Some health care groups, like medical device manufacturers, supported the bill
because of specific provisions like the repeal of a 2.3 percent device tax under the Affordable Care Act.
The Main Street Alliance, a group of small-business owners
that supported the Affordable Care Act, said four million small-business owners, employees and self-employed entrepreneurs had gained insurance under the law, and that an additional six million small-business workers had signed up for Medicaid through the law’s expansion.
