|Project Title= The ACA and Entrepreneurship in the 2016 Election (Blog Post)|Topic Area= Social Factors in Entrepreneurship|Owner= Dylan Dickens|Start Term= Summer 2016|End Term= Summer 2016|Status= Active|Deliverable= Blog Post|Audience= General Public|Skills Needed= Writing I|Keywords= Clinton, Drumpf, Election, Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Healthcare, Regulation, Policy, Obamacare, Affordable Care Act|Primary Billing=AccMcNair01
|Priority=3
|Due Date=NA
|Stage=DRAFTED
|Deliverable=Blog Post|Audience=General Public|Keywords=Clinton, Drumpf, Election, Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Healthcare, Regulation, Policy, Obamacare, Affordable Care Act|Primary Billing=AccMcNair01|Skills Needed=Writing I}}With an estimated 17 million Americans currently gaining coverage from it, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," or the ACA, has become a major part of American life, with The Atlantic calling it βthe most decisive question in the 2016 presidential election(1).β Throughout the election, one of the major concerns surrounding the ACA in debates is its supposed effect on business, especially small business.
Health care regulation has in fact been accused of"killing" small business. A 2012 Gallup poll of small business owners found that 48% of small business owners point to potential healthcare costs and 46% point to government regulations as reasons why they are NOT hiring new employees(2). In spite of this survey, the 2009-2015 head of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, and John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of the Small Business Majority, have both released statements questioning any long-term negative effects of the Affordable Care Act and have even suggested that there will be benefits