Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, made the following opening statement at today’s Health Subcommittee hearing, which considered the costs that will be imposed through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.  Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf, CMS Chief Actuary Rick Foster, economists, and job creators testified on the true cost of the healthcare law and its effects on the budget, jobs, healthcare costs, and access to quality medical care.

“We just marked the one-year anniversary of the health care bill being signed into law,” said Upton.  “Yet today will be the committee’s first chance to fully explore the true fiscal impact the law will have on our country.”

Among the new regulations and mandates within PPACA are a variety of provisions directly impacting employers, including a mandate to provide coverage to employees, benefit mandates and requirements on current employer-provided health coverage, disclosure and information obligations, and expansion of tax-filing requirements.  These new obligations imposed on employers could have adverse consequences for both the cost of employer-provided health coverage and the labor market.

On the healthcare overhaul’s impact on jobs, Upton continued, “Job creators around the country have spoken loud and clear. PPACA imposes massive new burdens on them that stifle growth and job creation. Many of the country’s largest employers reported hundreds of millions of dollars in losses as a result of this law – jeopardizing investment and jobs when we need them the most.”

To illustrate the healthcare overhaul’s affect on employers, witnesses from various sectors of the small business community provided testimony at today’s hearing.  A representative from the restaurant industry and an independent restaurateur from Upton’s home district, Larry Schuler provided the subcommittee a better understanding of how the healthcare law will significantly impact his employees and how he runs his business, and urged congressional action to make fundamental changes.

“As a small business owner from Michigan – by almost anyone’s account, the hardest economically hit state in the country – I am deeply alarmed by the new employer mandates in the healthcare overhaul and the adverse impact this law will have on both me and my employees,” Schuler later commented.  “I applaud Fred for calling today’s hearing to investigate the true costs of the new healthcare law, particularly for employers who are trying to lead the way for job creation and economic growth.”

The full text of Upton’s prepared opening remarks can be found HERE.  Schuler’s prepared written testimony can be found HERE.