BY PARIS
DENNARD, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 02/26/18 11:30 AM EST 34
THE VIEWS
EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
In a 2014
interview with NBA Star Charles Barkley, President Obama said
he liked the term “ObamaCare” and that “five years from now, when everybody’s
saying, ‘Man, I’m sure glad we got health care,’ there are going to be a whole
bunch of people who don’t call it ObamaCare anymore because they don’t want me
to get the credit.”
That bold prediction
has yet to ring true for many Americans who are small business owners and sole
proprietors. The U. S. Department of Labor estimates there are nearly 11 million of those
entrepreneurial Americans without healthcare because, even after all the
promises of access and affordability from President Obama, Rep. Nancy
Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democrat leaders, they still can’t
afford to buy health insurance.
Despite the efforts
of President Trump and the Republican-led
House to repeal and replace this deeply flawed and costly legislation with
something much better for the American people, we are still stuck with this
broken system of healthcare known as ObamaCare. For the three million uninsured
working small business owners (or their dependents) and the eight million
uninsured employees of small businesses (or their dependents), help is on the
way.
The help is not coming
from President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck
Schumer or the Democrats. President Trump signed an Executive Order Promoting
Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States last
October. The Presidential Executive Order expands access to Associated Health
Plans (AHP) to small business owners so they can compete in the marketplace
just like larger companies can to obtain more affordable healthcare options for
themselves and their employees.
Currently, under the
direction of Secretary Acosta, the U.S. Department of Labor is near the end of
a 60 day comment period for this proposed rulemaking change.
Members of the public have been sending in their feedback on the proposed rule
so that a final decision can be made on the parameters of the change and how it
would be implemented this year.
Yes, that means in
2018, there would be more opportunities for access to healthcare for the
backbone of America’s economic system, those 11 million small business owners
and sole proprietors.
For example, under
this proposed rule change requested by President Trump, a group of beauty salon
owners in Phoenix, Ariz., could come together and form their own Small Business
Health Plan and access the same healthcare options as one large company can
under the current system. Additionally, sole proprietors could create a
Small Business Health Plan by industry. Graphic designers nationwide
could for their own group and really be able to have the peace of mind of
having health insurance while still being their own boss.
Let’s unpack exactly
who could benefit from this important option. We all know this month, February,
is set aside to honor the achievements of African Americans. According to
the Small Business Administration's
Office of Advocacy, in 2012 African-Americans owned 2.6 million
small businesses and employed 975,000 people contributing more than $150
billion to the American economy. In 2017, the percentage of black-owned business owners
increased by 34 percent so this rule would have direct impact
on the black community for those millions that are small business owners or
sole proprietors currently living, working and trying to have their version of
the American dream without being able to afford ObamaCare.
2018 is proving to be
the year of opportunity for the American people under the Trump administration.
Whether it is the Computer Science Initiative giving
opportunities to local school districts and students, the Investing in Opportunity Act-giving
companies unique opportunities to invest in fragile communities serving
significant minority populations, or the Tax Cut and Jobs Act-giving
more middle-class Americans the opportunity to save more of their income while
creating more opportunities for companies to invest in America workers, or this
important Labor Department rule making change on the horizon giving 11 million
people an opportunity to access affordable healthcare options.
It is evident
President Trump is doing exactly what he said he was going to do and that is
something worth celebrating. Smart policy changes like this will help Make
America Great Again and the credit will go to President Donald J. Trump.
Paris Dennard (@PARISDENNARD) is a communications strategist and GOP
political commentator who has worked in the George W. Bush White House, the
Republican National Committee (RNC), and most recently works on behalf of the
nation’s public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
No comments:
Post a Comment