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NAHB Opposes House Health Care Plan
While members of the House of Representatives last week were embroiled in last-minute deliberations over H.R. 3962, the Affordable Healthcare for America Act, NAHB sent a letter to the legislators supporting their efforts to improve access to quality and affordable health care, but stating strong concerns over the impact this legislation would have on home builders and their employees.
The massive bill to overhaul the health care industry was passed on Saturday, Nov. 7, by a narrow vote of 220 to 215.
NAHB said it was specifically opposed to the broad employer mandate imposed by the bill as the vehicle to provide health insurance or universal coverage to all employees. The letter stated that the employer mandate and minimum benefit requirements stipulated in the legislation would remove “the flexibility for employers to provide health plans that best fit the needs of their workforce."
NAHB also has significant concerns with the surtax on taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $500,000 for single taxpayers and $1 million for joint filers as well as the change in treatment of S Corporations and other pass-through entities.
Many small businesses, such as home builders, are structured as pass-through entities and pay for their business taxes at the individual level. “The surtax and pass-through provisions will have significant impacts on these small businesses,” the letter said. “Furthermore, by not indexing the surtax to the inflation rate, the number of home building firms subject to this tax will continue to increase in years to come.”
Noting that NAHB is a strong advocate of universal access to health coverage and encourages a market-based approach over a guaranteed mandate, the letter said that H.R. 3962 fails to include meaningful medical malpractice reforms, preservation of association-sponsored health programs and tax-deferred individual medical savings accounts — methods that NAHB supports to improve the nation's current health care system.
"Unfortunately, as currently drafted, H.R. 3962 does not meet these goals and therefore NAHB must oppose the legislation,” the letter concluded.
To read the legislation, click here and enter H.R. 3962 in the box at the upper center of the page.
For more information, e-mail Carlos Gutierrez at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8242.
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