Health insurance provider tax should be delayed

To the editor:

The Affordable Care Act has a provision called the health insurance provider tax that is going to have a devastating impact on our economy.

This concerns me greatly as the owner of a small business because it is people like me who will be picking up the tab for it. The tax is being levied on health insurance companies as of Jan. 1 of this year, but they are expected to simply pass it on to small businesses by way of higher premiums. I feel that the whole health care reform legislation is a mess and should be repealed. For now, something has to be done to stop — or at the very least delay — this tax before it does irreparable harm to the small business community and millions of Americans.

I have been running an RV park for the last eight years in Wasilla. While things are starting to go well, I still cannot afford the high price of health insurance. This tax is going to drive up prices even higher, which will force a lot of small businesses to have layoffs or shut their doors for good. Alaska has a lot of small businesses, so there will be major fallout for our state economy. This doesn’t seem like a smart thing to do.

We need to urge our elected officials in Washington, D.C., to throw their support behind the Small Business and Family Relief Act. If enacted, this bill would delay the tax on insurance providers for two years and afford small business owners the opportunity to review its impact on our businesses, our employees and our families. We deserve that much.

Jan Richardson

Wasilla