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One important concern with the Patient Protection and [[Affordable Care Act]] is that “Obamacare” will kill [[Small Business]] [http://www.investors.com/liberal-study-finds-obamanomics-killed-the-american-entrepreneur/]. The visible effect of Obamacare on small businesses is not necessarily seen in the abandonment of plans to grow businesses or death of businesses themselves, but, rather, in a slowing or halting in hiring of employees and cutting of hours. According to a Gallup and Wells Fargo survey of small business owners, conducted in 2012, 48% of small business owners point toward "potential healthcare costs" as a reason for not hiring more employees [http://www.gallup.com/poll/152654/health-costs-gov-regulations-curb-small-business-hiring.aspx].
Still, while the ACA may have caused a slowing or ceasing in small business hiring, the precise harm of Obamacare regulations and mandates to small businesses depends heavily on small business size because the effects of Obamacare on businesses varies vary so vastly greatly between firms of different compositions and sizes in their workforces (i.e. number of full time employees, average wages, state of operation).
The SBA has established a summary of the size guidelines for small businesses to qualify "as a small business concern for SBA and most other federal programs" [https://www.sba.gov/contracting/getting-started-contractor/make-sure-you-meet-sba-size-standards/summary-size-standards-industry-sector] (500 employees for mining and manufacturing businesses or an annual receipt of $7.5 in average annual receipts for non-manufacturing firms), but these small business standards vary within the different between industries. The United States has almost 6 million small businesses that fall under small business size classifications; however, but 90% of small businesses employ fewer than 20 people [http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-small-business/].
According to the ACA, only small businesses with fewer than fifty full-time equivalent employees are exempt from the employer mandate. However, at At the time of the ACA'S enactment in 2012, only 200,000 small businesses would have been affected by the employer mandate because 96% of the small businesses employed fewer than 50 employees [http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2012/08/10/will-obamacare-help-or-hurt-small-businesses/2/#49ebac0f31e5].
Furthermore, while the cost of health care insurance premiums and plans have assuredly risen since the post-ACA'S enactment, health insurance premiums had already been increasing and small businesses had faced higher premiums than larger firms for many years prior to the act's enactment [http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-small-business/] [http://jhppl.dukejournals.org/content/36/3/539.short]. </onlyinclude>
=='''How the ACA really affects small businesses'''==
[[Image:piechart.jpg|250px|right]]
The Affordable Care Act uses the language terminology “full-time equivalent” (abbreviated FTE) when determining calculating the number of full-time employees.
Calculation for finding the number of full-time equivalent employees: # of FTE's = '''Total Number of Full-time Employees''' + '''[Combined Number of Part-time Employees Hours ''')/''' 30]'''
