KY Chamber Takes on Health Insurance Tax

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has written to the Kentucky delegation to express concern about the Health Insurance Tax component of Obamacare, a topic this blog recently addressed.

Essentially, the HIT taxis a sales tax on health insurance plans that will be born by consumers and businesses that purchase the plans. It is projected to cost families approximately $5,000 a year.

The Chamber highlights the devastating effect HIT will have on small businesses. That is, it will ultimately kill jobs, at a time when they are scacre enough thanks to seven years of the Obama economy.

Here's what the Chamber posted:

The Health Insurance Tax acts like a sales tax on health-insurance policies purchased in
the market by individuals and employers. While the tax, when implemented, is supposed
to be paid by the insurance companies, the real cost will be passed through to the
customers who pay for the insurance.

“Kentucky families depend upon a growing economy and a strong private sector to ensure
they can meet their needs today and reach for their goals tomorrow. When a tax or
regulation targets the business community, it doesn’t just hurt the entrepreneurs and
owners: whatever holds the businesses back also holds back their employees and the
people who might have become employees,” Kentucky Chamber Vice President of Public
Affairs Ashli Watts wrote.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business, the tax will cost nearly
250,000 jobs – with 59% of the job losses falling on small businesses. Large employers
will also experience considerable job loss, resulting from the residual effect of initial
cutbacks made at small businesses.

“Collectively, these impacts on jobs and growth, coupled with fewer investments, will
cause a ripple effect on the already fragile Kentucky economy,” Watts said.

Watts also stated that the tax will lead to higher premiums for individuals and their
families as a study by the Joint Committee on Taxation states that “a very large portion”
of the tax will “be borne by consumers” in the form of a 2 to 2.5 percent increase in
premium cost by 2016. As a result of the tax, families could experience a $5,000 increase
in the cost of their premium over a decade.

Because of the negative impacts to come from this provision, Watts expressed the
Kentucky Chamber’s appreciation that Congress has delayed implementation of the
Health Insurance Tax but asked that members of Kentucky’s federal delegation seek
permanent repeal of the measure.