Opinion Survey: Small Business Owners’ Views on Key Provisions of the Patient Protection and the ACA

This Small Business Majority’s national survey gauged 619 small business owners’ views on two key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): small business tax credits and insurance exchanges.

It found that both the small business tax credit (a provision allowing businesses with fewer than 25 employees that have average annual wages under $50,000 to get a tax credit of up to 35% of their health insurance costs beginning in tax year 2010) and the insurance exchanges (online marketplaces where small businesses and individuals can band together to purchase insurance starting in 2014) make small business owners more likely to provide healthcare coverage for their employees.

The survey found that more education is needed on the exchange and tax credits. Only 31% of small business owners are very or somewhat familiar with the exchange, and 67% are a little or not at all familiar with it.

The survey also found that one-third (33%) of employers who currently don’t offer insurance said they’d be more likely to do so because of the tax credits. Another 33% of respondents not offering insurance said they’d be more likely to because of insurance exchanges. The results for employers already providing benefits are almost identical.

View the survey.