Bill Nelson’s Healthcare Law Is Killing Jobs In Florida 

When liberal U.S. Senator Bill Nelson cast the 60th and deciding vote for President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, it didn’t just cut $550 billion from Medicare but also included a slew of job-killing taxes that are crushing small businesses across the Sunshine State. 

In North Florida, small business owners have said that government-run healthcare is driving up their premiums. 

Meanwhile, small business owners in Jacksonville have said the taxes in ObamaCare could force them to sell their business.  Additionally, in Melbourne, medical device companies have stated that the medical device tax is stifling innovation. 

Notably, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has stated the healthcare law will kill 800,000 jobs nationwide.

• QUESTION: “In your estimation, the health care law would reduce employment by 800,000…”
• DOUGLAS ELMENDORF, CBO Director: “Yes… there would be a reduction of 800,000 workers.” (U.S. House Of Representatives, Budget Committee, Hearing, 2/10/11)

• QUESTION: “The last question is, it’s been argued and was argued here yesterday with the chairman, that the new health care law will create jobs and increase labor force participation. But if I recall from your analysis, it was quite the opposite. Is that not the case?”
• DOUGLAS ELMENDORF, CBO Director: “Yes.” (U.S. House Of Representatives, Budget Committee, Hearing, 2/10/11)

“It speaks volumes that small business owners in North Florida, Jacksonville and Melbourne have all come out against the job-killing tax increases that were in ObamaCare, which liberal Democrat Bill Nelson supported,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox.  “With nearly 900,000 unemployed Floridians, it’s clear Florida cannot afford Barack Obama and Bill Nelson’s job-killing healthcare law.”

BACKGROUND …

All Across Florida, Bill Nelson’s Healthcare Law Is Literally Killing Jobs

Area Director For The Small Business Development Center At The University Of North Florida Says ObamaCare’s Insurance Reforms Will “Drive Up Premiums.” “Reform contains the immediate ending of several practices health care insurance companies used to hold down costs. The law includes a requirement to cover children through age 26, ending of the rejection of people who have pre-existing medical conditions and the placement of caps on what policies pay out. ‘One of the things all this will do is drive up premiums,’ Hagan said.” (Kevin Turner, “Health Care Reform May Not Offer Enough To Small Businesses,” The Florida Times-Union, 4/25/10)

• And Acknowledges That Higher Premiums Will Be Passed To Consumers, Says “It’s A Cost Of Doing Business.” “And that has small business owners wondering if they’ll have to pass those costs along to their customers, lay off employees or cut back in other ways, she said. ‘It’s a cost of doing business,’ she said. ‘But we have a fairly high unemployment rate. Is this really going to help that cause?’” (Kevin Turner, “Health Care Reform May Not Offer Enough To Small Businesses,” The Florida Times-Union, 4/25/10)

Florida Medical Device Company CEO Says ObamaCare’s Medical Device Tax Will Lead To “Layoffs And Less Investment” And Smaller Companies Will “Ow[e] More In Taxes Than They Earn In Profit.” “‘The way the bill is currently written, the impact of the device tax will have some smaller medical device companies owing more in taxes than they earn in profit,’ said Matt Solar, C2C’s chief executive officer. ‘The overall effect will be layoffs and less investment in research and development. This needs to be fixed.’” (Wayne T. Price, “Tax A Concern In Medical Device Field,” FloridaToday.com, 4/7/10)

• Florida Software-Engineering Firm CEO Doesn’t “See The Benefit” Of The Medical Device Tax And Says “It Will Really Hurt Device Development.” “Lee Krause, chief executive officer of Melbourne-based Audigence Inc., a software-engineering firm for hearing aid systems, said while the impact on the tax will not affect his company, as an entrepreneur in a medical field he sees where it might stifle innovation and research. ‘In general I don’t see the benefit in creating this device tax and agree it will really hurt device development,’ Krause said.” (Wayne T. Price, “Tax A Concern In Medical Device Field,” FloridaToday.com, 4/7/10)
• Florida Tanning Salon Owner May Sell Her Business Because Of ObamaCare’s Tanning Tax. “Sherry Rosenberger, owner of Sunset Tans, said the tan tax is one of many factors behind her considering selling her business. Between the bad press about health risks, a down economy and the new tax, ‘Everything is going against us,’ she said.” (Justin Pugh, “Tanning Salons Look At How New Taxes Will Affect Business,” The Florida Times-Union, 4/25/10)
• Tanning Salon Owner In Jacksonville, FL Says Fighting The Tax Is Like “David Vs. Goliath” Because Tanning Is “Not An Extremely Lucrative Business.” “Nermin Dedic, owner of Sol Us, which has seven salons in Jacksonville, describes the tanning industry’s battle against the lobbying efforts of other groups as a David-versus-Goliath-type fight, in which tanning salon owners can’t compete. ‘It’s not an extremely lucrative business,’ he said. ‘So we’re not able to afford things like that where you have lobbyists in Congress so you can do things like plastic surgeons did in completely eliminating the Botox tax.’” (Justin Pugh, “Tanning Salons Look At How New Taxes Will Affect Business,” The Florida Times-Union, 4/25/10)

• Another Florida Tanning Salon Owner Says Business Will Suffer Because Salons Can’t Afford To Cut Prices. “Paul Abdullah, owner of Four Seasons Tan, which has two Southside locations and one in Atlantic Beach, said the tax will cause salons to suffer more than they already have in a down economy. But tanning salons are ‘not Walmart,’ he said. ‘We can’t reduce our prices and make more people come in and tan. He says the tax will hurt middle-class Americans – predominantly younger, white women – who make up the majority of his clientele, he said.” (Justin Pugh, “Tanning Salons Look At How New Taxes Will Affect Business,” The Florida Times-Union, 4/25/10)
• Pharmacy Owner From Jacksonville, FL Says ObamaCare’s Tax Credit To Help Small Businesses Pay For Health Insurance “Isn’t Enough To Help.” “Jacksonville small business owner Greg Carter said he favors health care reform but doesn’t think the reform bill President Barack Obama signed last month is going to help him. Between his two Jacksonville pharmacies, Carter employs 15, but he doesn’t provide health care insurance because he can’t afford it. And he said a tax credit in the reform bill designed for businesses like his isn’t enough to help.” (Kevin Turner, “Health Care Reform May Not Offer Enough To Small Businesses,” The Florida Times-Union, 4/25/10)