The number one, all-time favorite refrain of Republicans against Obamacare is that it's such a huge burden on the nation's employers that it's a "job killer." The nation's employers
don't see it that way.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—otherwise known as Obamacare—is putting such a small dent in the profits of U.S. companies that many refer to its impact as "not material" or "not significant," according to a Bloomberg review of conference-call transcripts and interviews with major U.S. employers.
That's even after a provision went into effect this year requiring companies with 50 or more full-time workers to provide coverage, and after more workers are choosing to enroll in existing company coverage because of another requirement that all Americans get insured.
"It's just part of doing business," said Bob Shearer, chief financial officer of VF Corp., which owns the North Face and Vans apparel brands. "Obamacare has added costs, but not so much that we felt we had to talk about it specifically."
Among those companies whose profits have been not at all threatened by the law are Chipotle, which will spend less than 1 percent of its projected operating profit for this year to cover more than 1,000 employees, and Walmart, which will spend about 0.1 percent of its annual revenue on insuring its workers. That's about 1.8 percent of its operating profit. That's hardly threatening the health of either company.
That could be one of the reasons business is sitting out the King v. Burwell case. Remember the first Supreme Court attack on the law? It came from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filing briefs in support of the challenge. The handful of briefs filed by business this time around are mostly from the healthcare industry, and in support of the government, because the law has actually been good for them. Turns out, a nation of people who have health insurance and aren't being bankrupted by medical costs buy stuff, support businesses, maybe eat out once in a while. That's always good for the bottom line.