Press Releases

On Tuesday, April 30 at 9:00 a.m., Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) will join Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) to host a field hearing entitled “Health Care Challenges Facing North Carolina’s Workers and Job Creators.” The hearing will take place at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, South Campus, Building 1000, Room 106, located at 1531 Trinity Church Road in Concord, North Carolina.

Starting next year, President Obama’s health care law will require businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide government-approved insurance or face a tax penalty. The law defines a full-time employee as an individual working 30 or more hours in a work week. As health care costs continue to rise, the employer mandate is already forcing business owners to make difficult choices. To avoid the law’s punitive policies, some employers may consider cutting the number of employees’ hours, reducing workforce size, or dropping health care coverage entirely.

According to a survey released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the 2010 health care law is now the top concern facing small businesses. The survey found that 77 percent of small business owners believe the law will make health care coverage more expensive and 71 percent say it will make hiring new employees more difficult.

The field hearing will provide committee members an opportunity to learn how the health care law is affecting North Carolina’s workers, employers, and families. For more information about the field hearing, visit www.edworkforce.housegov/hearings. Media interested in attending the field hearing must RSVP to Brian Newell at brian.newell@mail.house.gov or Anna Haberlein at anna.haberlein@mail.house.gov.

 

# # #