WRITTEN TESTIMONY FOR THE UNITED STATES 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

BY WALT ROWEN

CO-CHAIR OF SMALL BUSINESS FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE

PRESIDENT OF SUSQUEHANNA GLASS IN COLUMBIA, PA

MARCH 23, 2023

My name is Walt Rowen, president of Susquehanna Glass in Columbia, PA and Co-Chair of Small Business for America’s Future (SBAF)—a national coalition of small business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. We’re committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize Main Street by advancing a just and equitable economic framework that works for small business owners, their employees, and their communities. 

As a representative of small business owners across the nation, I want to express small businesses’ unwavering support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to stress the importance of maintaining and strengthening this landmark legislation. Small businesses, which employ nearly half of all Americans and drive economic activity in every community across the country, are the backbone of the national economy. It is imperative our interests be protected.

Susquehanna Glass is a family-owned glass decorating business that has been in operation for 113 years, and I can tell you the high cost of healthcare has long been a significant concern for small business owners for a long time. We offer healthcare coverage to all our full-time employees, so I know firsthand how rising healthcare prices not only strain budgets and eat into the bottom line, they also impose undue hardship on the dedicated employees who make small businesses thrive. 

As employers, we want to take care of our workforce, and in an increasingly competitive labor market, offering a solution for comprehensive health insurance benefits can be a way to attract and retain top talent. Before the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, securing affordable healthcare for small businesses and their employees was more often a losing battle. In most markets, it was too expensive for both the companies and their employees.  However, the ACA has revolutionized the landscape by providing affordable options to small businesses through initiatives such as the small business tax credits, the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace, and the individual Health Insurance Marketplaces.

The enactment of the ACA has expanded healthcare coverage to tens of millions of Americans, including small business owners, their employees, and their families, through subsidies available on the Health Insurance Marketplaces. This expansion of coverage is unprecedented in scale and has had a transformative impact on the lives of countless individuals. Currently, 35 million people have health coverage thanks to the ACA. 

Small business owners and self-employed individuals constitute a substantial portion of Marketplace enrollment among working-age adults, accounting for 25 percent of enrollees. Moreover, the implementation of the ACA has led to a remarkable decrease in the uninsured rate among self-employed adults aged 21-64. In 2019, the uninsured rate for this demographic was nearly 10 percentage points lower than pre-ACA rates, a testament to the significant impact of the legislation.

It’s also helped spark a wave of new small businesses by incentivizing people to take the leap into entrepreneurship. They’re able to leave a job with employer-based insurance and take this bold step knowing they will still have a healthcare option. New small business applications are higher than pre-pandemic levels for the second year in a row. In 2022, 5 million small businesses were created down just slightly from 5.2 million in 2021. 

Despite the progress made under the ACA, we recognize that the legislation is not without its flaws. Recent improvements, such as the enhanced tax credits on the Marketplace and the fix for the “family glitch,” have substantially benefited small business owners, their employees, and their families by making healthcare coverage more affordable. However, there is plenty more work to do.

Susquehanna Glass offers a range of coverage options to its full-time employees. Our most popular policy is an HSA plan with a $3,500 deductible and a monthly cost per single employee of around $600. That same plan for a family costs upwards of $1,000 per month with a $7,000 total family deductible. The company pays approximately 50% of these costs. To cover the 13 employees who take the coverage, the company pays more than $46,000 annually. Our current payroll runs between 40-50 people, so we’re only getting about 25% participation and the main reason is the expense of the coverage.

We firmly believe in the continued pursuit of policy solutions that lower out-of-pocket costs for purchasing health insurance and acknowledge that further action must be taken to address the underlying issue of escalating healthcare prices. Lowering healthcare costs is critical not only for small businesses but also for all consumers. And there are plenty of targets for meaningful action.

Small business owners know that high healthcare costs are driven by prescription drug costs—95% of small business owners say pharmaceutical companies are responsible for rising prices in a recent SBAF survey—and the increasing rate of hospital consolidation—94% point to hospitals in the same survey. The high cost of coverage and care creates very real economic challenges and inflationary pressures. SBAF research shows nearly half of small business owners have increased the prices of their goods or services to offset healthcare costs, 38 percent have delayed growth opportunities, and 28 percent have held off on hiring new employees.

Small Business For America’s Future research underscores the desire among small business owners for policymakers to take decisive action to address the rising costs of healthcare. Small business owners are eager to see policies that ensure they and their employees have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare coverage.

In conclusion, we implore you, the esteemed members of this committee, to recognize the crucial role that the Affordable Care Act plays in supporting small businesses and their employees. Repealing or weakening the ACA would be a significant blow to these vital economic contributors, causing undue harm and potentially stifling growth and innovation.

Instead, we urge you to focus on enhancing and refining the legislation, further reducing the financial burden on small businesses and their employees, and ultimately improving access to affordable, quality healthcare for all Americans. By taking these actions, you will not only ensure the continued success and prosperity of small businesses but also contribute to the overall health and wellbeing of our nation.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Walter Rowen
President
Susquehanna Glass, Co.
Columbia, PA