The new law has already helped hundreds of thousands of small businesses, many of which are based here in South Carolina, through healthcare tax credits. 2014 will bring an insurance marketplace that will create more competition among insurance companies to drive down premiums. Fewer people without insurance will curtail cost shifting that results in those with health insurance paying higher premiums. When the ACA is fully implemented, small businesses will finally be paying the same rates as big corporations.
The only concern with the Supreme Court ruling is that each state now has the option of not expanding Medicaid to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Small business will benefit from the expansion because to do so will reduce the number of employees needing to be covered by a company’s healthcare plan and thus reducing the cost to the business. But that fight is for tomorrow.