Capitol Hill

More than a year after a Democratic-controlled Congress passed the $1 trillion-plus Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the debate regarding the highly controversial health care law remains far from over. With public opinion polls indicating less than majority support for the PPACA throughout the U.S., congressional Republicans continue to attack the law on numerous fronts as they focus on the 2012 elections.

The law's problems

During the coming months, congressional Republicans will attempt to highlight the PPACA's negative effects on economic growth and job creation. They argue that widespread uncertainty regarding the law's implementation—especially the employer mandate provisions that will take effect in 2014—is a major factor contributing to weak economic growth and job creation, particularly among small and mid-sized businesses.

The PPACA requires all employers with 50 or more "full-time equivalent" employees to provide government-approved health insurance or pay a penalty to the Internal Revenue Service. Additionally, employers who provide qualifying health benefits still may face penalties if their employees qualify for new subsidies created by the law.

The PPACA's employer-related requirements are extremely complex, and it won't be clear exactly how the law will be implemented until regulations are finalized during the next few years.

However, the problem's basic parameters are clear: By mandating expensive minimum benefits that employers must provide to employees without providing any effective cost-control mechanisms, the law likely will increase costs and reduce choices for small businesses that already have great difficulty affording health care benefits for their employees. True reform should provide greater flexibility and innovation rather than mandating one-size-fits-all coverage as the PPACA does.

Most NRCA members believe government mandates such as those the PPACA imposes on employers are counterproductive to the goal of expanding access to health insurance and hinder economic growth and job creation. Many employers soon will have to decide whether to expend additional resources to ensure compliance with the law by providing expensive benefits or, alternatively, forgo offering health benefits to employees and pay the law's penalty. If employers decide it makes more financial sense to drop coverage, their employees will have no choice but to fend for themselves in the untested, subsidized insurance "exchanges" created by the law.

NRCA believes reform measures that truly control rising health care costs are needed to expand access to affordable health insurance for small and mid-sized businesses and considers repeal of the employer mandate provisions to be critical.

NRCA is lobbying in support of the American Job Protection Act (H.R. 1744), bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and John Barrow (D-Ga.) that would repeal the law's employer mandate provisions. Freshman Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.), a former NRCA president, is co-sponsoring the bill and helping to spearhead efforts among his colleagues to develop support for the initiative in the House.

In addition to H.R. 1744, NRCA supports H.R. 5, legislation recently passed by the House that would reduce the cost of health care through medical liability reforms. Medical liability widely is recognized as a significant cost driver in the U.S. health care system and must be addressed to get costs under control.

The outlook

The outlook for H.R. 1744 and H.R. 5 is highly uncertain given the legislative gridlock gripping the Senate. But having a debate about the PPACA's effects on the U.S.' job creators will help lay the foundation for major modifications to the law, or even full repeal, if Republicans take control of Congress in the 2012 elections.

This issue remains a major concern for employers, and NRCA will continue to be engaged in the health care reform debate on behalf of the roofing industry.

Duane L. Musser is NRCA's vice president of government relations.