Retailers want Obamacare repealed, real solution developed

Citing the cost and complexity associated the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, National Retail Federation affirmed its opposition to the health care law in a sharply worded letter to top elected officials.

NRF opposed passage of the Affordable Care Act, often disparagingly referred to as Obamacare, when the health care law was enacted in 2010. The trade group’s most recent statement of opposition follows the introduction of H.R. 596, a bill to repeal the controversial law and related health care provisions.

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, NRF Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French wrote, “Dealing with the ACA’s employer mandate and reporting requirements have already brought unwanted cost and complexity to retail employers, despite the serial delays. Moreover, the numerous unintended consequences of the law have slowed the creation of new retail jobs and limited the hours available to part-time employees.”

NRF’s primary point of contention with the health care law is that it focused more on government mandates, regulations and a condensed definition of a work week than affordability and accessibility. NRF also reminded Boehner and Pelosi of the industry’s scale and said it will be closely watching how votes are cast on the repeal legislation to include in the group voting scorecard called the Retail Opportunity Index.

“NRF has and will continue to work in good faith with congress and the administration to fix and improve the law wherever possible,” French said. “Yet even the most basic of changes – such as changing the definition of a full-time employee – still draw unfounded partisan opposition and veto threats. Improving and fixing the ACA remains challenging at best, and finding real relief from the law’s burdens is elusive. We believe the best course of action would be to repeal the ACA in its entirety and begin a truly bipartisan discussion and debate on the future of our health care system.”