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Don’t lose HIT in other headlines

It seems like every day there is a story about changes being made to some part of the president’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Whether it’s the fact that the website still isn’t working, with reports suggesting as much as 40 percent of it may need to be built, or so-called “substandard” health insurance plans that were going to be phased out at the end of this year and now can be extended through 2014, it remains a hot topic.

But lost in the PPACA discussion is a small business tax set to affect a huge swath of people and have a tremendous impact on the economy: the HIT.

Thirty-four million Americans will be impacted by the HIT, including the self-employed, small business owners, their employees and families. Health insurance costs for the average family affected by the HIT will increase by $500 per year for the next decade, and according to one analysis, the overall economic effect of the HIT would lower the U.S. GDP by as much as $35 billion.

Unfortunately, while large corporations and unions have armies of lobbyists working on their behalf, small businesses and their employees need to be their own best advocates. The good news is that legislators from both parties have seen the inequities of the HIT.

Legislation to repeal the HIT has more than 250 bipartisan cosponsors across both houses of Congress. And while outright repeal of the HIT is the only way to ensure small businesses and their employees never have to worry about the job-killing ramifications of this new tax, a bipartisan bill from Representatives Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Ami Bera (D-Calif.) would provide much needed, immediate relief from the HIT for two years.

With all the partisan gridlock in Washington, efforts to protect small business owners and their employees from the damaging effects of the HIT can be a source of common ground for members of both parties. Contact your member of Congress to encourage them to support small business by repealing the HIT, and follow our Facebook page and Twitter feed for regular updates.