Small business group lobbies for reform while trade groups see cuts in business

Small business owners lobby Congress while trade associations and a seniors' group worry about what lawmaker's efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system could mean for them.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that Las Vegas small business owners went to Washington Tuesday to tell lawmakers about their desire for health reform. "With the insurance and pharmaceutical industries unleashing their thousands of lobbyists on [Capitol] Hill, the pro-reform groups were firing back with stories from people like [Las Vegas small business owner Michael] MacQuarrie to tell their side."

"Small-business owners have mixed views on health care reform. Some oppose the proposed taxes to help pay for health care subsidies and the mandates that they provide health care for their workers or pay fines. Others, including many of those gathered on the Hill who have advocated for reform, say changes being considered by Congress would give them access to cheaper insurance premiums so they can provide health care to their workers at lower costs" (Mascaro, 11/4).

Roll Call reports that some groups are preparing to take a hit if health reform passes. "As Congressional leaders and the White House finalize an overhaul to the domestic health care system this month, [Philadelphia Main Line Chamber of Commerce President Stan] Schuck and other trade association executives are worried about how Democratic-proposed changes may eviscerate a major moneymaker for their organizations: the sale of health insurance plans." Roll Call reports that the overhaul's most vocal opponents often have a stake in the health insurance system in that they offer health insurance plans to their members (Murray, 11/4).

Finally, one group that's becoming increasingly vocal about such changes and how it could affect their members is "The 60 Plus Association." Kaiser Health News runs an ad audit on its latest ad, "Greatest Generation," an anti-reform ad that "uses testimony from sympathetic older Americans to warn that a health care overhaul would impair Medicare, the government health care program for the elderly." The ad exaggerates the impact of Medicare cuts, KHN reports (Rau, 11/4).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.