When the Supreme Court upheld the controversial health care reform two weeks ago, the National Retail Federation (NRF) expressed its intent to redouble its efforts to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act, better known as ObamaCare. As House Republicans set out to vote on repealing health care reform today, the NRF remains vocal in its disagreement over the law.
The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide.
In a statement released this morning, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay commented on today’s House vote to repeal the health care reform law:
“At a time when the economy is still struggling to recover, Congress needs to repeal the health care law before it costs millions of Americans their jobs.
Congress set out to make health care more accessible by making it more affordable. Instead, what we may well get is a perfect storm of unintended consequences that drives up costs so high that many companies likely will be forced to cut back their payrolls or discontinue health care coverage even if it means paying fines. Instead of making health care more available, the Affordable Care Act is likely to cost many workers both their jobs and their health insurance.
It’s time for Congress to go back to work and come up with true bipartisan health care reform that focuses first on reducing costs and addressing the fundamental flaws of our health care system, rather than destroying jobs and penalizing the very employers who today voluntarily pay for health insurance. As an industry that provides health care coverage for millions of American workers and their families, retail will continue to work with lawmakers to achieve that goal.”
The NRF also recently established a special website to help focus its grassroots and political campaign against health care reform.
Retailers believe that the new health care reform law is bad for business because, instead of making health care more affordable, the mandates are too tricky. As the NRF commented in a joint statement with the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR):
“NRF and NCCR believe the mandate on employers is both punitive and anti-growth — and ultimately hazardous to our economy. Efforts to reduce the cost of health coverage are insufficient and the law is too complex to administer.”
Today’s House vote will decide the fate of the retail industry in the United States.
Do you think that the new health care reform law will be detrimental to retailers?
ok. here is the FACT. OUR COUNTRY IS BROKE! We are borrowing money from other countries to pay for our out of control spending. When you borrow money, you have to have collateral. What do you think our country is using as collateral for the TRILLIONS of dollars it is borrowing? The answer is OUR NATIONAL PARKS! Whether Obmacare is good or bad is a moot point. The point is that WE CAN NOT AFFORD to pay for it. The only thing keeping our nation afloat is that the US dollar has the status as the world standard currency. If we lose that status, and we are in very real danger of doing so, the bottom will drop out from under the Dollar overnight and it will be worth less then the Peso. Look up "World standard currency" and it will scare the hell out of you.
affordable healthcare is a right, not a privilege and some of these companies and corporations just don't get it, I'm glad the supreme court up held the affordable care act.Every job should have health care coverage for it's employees.
You go baby!
How is Bill ?
Michelle Rodriguez, what color is the sky in your world? Do you not think companies will decide that it is more cost-effective to stop offering health insurance to their employees and just pay the fine. The government cannot force businesses to offer a health care plan, & demanding it as a "right" isn't going to force any business to offer one! I can only assume that you're hoping every business in America drops their health plans so that the Federal government is forced to pick up the slack. For that matter, what are the unemployed (or under-employed) supposed to do? Obamcare in its present form doesn't offer FREE health coverage, so what are people with little or no money supposed to do? It is a falicy to say you can go to an ER and get treated; you can, but it's NOT free unless you are in the country illegally and living under the radar! If you're a citizen and go to an ER (with or without Obamacare), you STILL will be charged outrageous fees and if you cannot pay, the hospitals (iwithout hesitation) will turn you over to DEBT COLLECTORS!! Obamacare does NOTHING to prevent that! You will be charged, and you WILL be pursued, and the Affordable Care Act will do NOTHING to change that!
Our rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, I don't remember free birth control being in the Bill of Rights.
well it should be,birth control should be included in healthcare coverage.