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One 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/]. Obamacare's effect 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, as well as a cut in employees hours. According to a Gallup and Wells Fargo survey of 600 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 practices, the precise exact harm of Obamacare regulations and mandates to small businesses depends heavily on small business size because the effects vary so 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 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 million in average annual receipts for non-manufacturing firms), but these small business standards vary between industries. The United States has almost 6 million small businesses that fall under small business size classifications; however, 90% of small businesses employ fewer than 20 people [http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-small-business/]. More precisely, 61% of firms have between 3 and 9 employees and , while 98% of firms have employ between 3 and 199 employees. [http://files.kff.org/attachment/report-2015-employer-health-benefits-survey]
According to the ACA, small businesses with fewer than fifty full-time equivalent employees are exempt from the employer mandate. At the time of the ACA'S enactment in 2012, only 200,000 small businesses would have been affected by the employer mandate, as 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].
