VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: On Friday, June 29, small business leaders with the Virginia Main Street Alliance (VMSA), a project of Virginia Organizing, met with Senator Jeffrey McWater's office in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including consumer protections, small business benefits and the individual mandate. Small business owners have a unique perspective on the significance of the law as many struggle to provide insurance for their employees and their own families. VMSA released the following statement asking Senator McWaters to lead the way in implementing the Affordable Care Act: 

 

Dear Senator McWaters,

For over a year now, we have been calling on Virginia to take action on health care reform. As small business people, we see the ineffectiveness and inefficiencies of the current health care system; we see our valued employees denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions; we see our children kicked off our plans when they reach 21; we see our employees without insurance miss work for easily preventable illnesses. Mostly, we see health care bills skyrocketing so no one can afford coverage: not our customers, not our employees and not us.

In the last few years, thousands of local small businesses have been forced to give up covering their employees because of skyrocketing costs. Thousands more have tried to cover employees only to find prohibitive costs.

We note with pleasure your strong voice in the 2011 General Assembly calling for action rather than delays because you understand the cost to small business of a failed health insurance system. You know that the state can play a leading role in making health care work for small business.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision about the constitutionality of health care reform. The Court has now spoken about this solution.

The Court has found most of the health care law to be constitutional. The ball is now in Virginia’s Court. Virginia has an opportunity to implement health care reform in ways that will benefit small business and the people of Virginia alike. We urge you to work with the Virginia Health Reform Initiative to quickly establish a health benefits exchange that protect the people of Virginia and help reduce costs for our people.

 

To schedule an interview with a small business leader, please contact Amanda Pohl, Communications Coordinator at 804-337-1912 or amanda@virginia-organizing.org.

 

Virginia Organizing is a statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia.

###