California lawmakers burden small businesses with costly health care mandates | Opinion

Californians are facing nearly $1 billion in new health care costs, an amount that will be passed onto employers and employees through higher premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. As a small business owner in California, I am proud to provide jobs, pay competitive wages and offer health coverage to my employees, while still offering affordable prices to my community. But each year, it seems like it gets harder to do.

The cost of health care continues to rise. And, despite rising costs, lawmakers are advancing a slew of new health care mandates that threaten to make coverage even more expensive for employers and working families.

California has already submitted a proposed expansion of Essential Health Benefits to the federal government. These benefits are estimated to increase premiums by over $500 million annually. At the same time, there are numerous proposed health care mandates working their way through the legislature, which are estimated to add a combined $420 million to premium costs each year. That’s $1 billion in new health care costs in the first year alone.

These rising costs are a clear threat to small businesses that are already struggling to keep costs under control. They make the hope of health care affordability even more elusive for small businesses, employees and working families.

For many small businesses, health care is already one of the largest expenses. When premiums rise, business owners are forced to make tough choices — reducing benefits, raising employee contributions or stopping coverage altogether. It also makes it harder to hire new staff and compete with larger companies for employees. Ultimately, additional costs will have to be passed onto our customers, making it even harder to offer competitive, affordable pricing.

The most frustrating part? These proposals are contrary to California’s own goals. The Office of Health Care Affordability was created in 2022 to curb rising health care costs for consumers and businesses alike. I support that effort because it offers a path toward sustainable costs, but these new mandates are moving in the opposite direction: Instead of making health care more affordable, our lawmakers are stacking up expensive mandates with no regard for their cumulative impact on small businesses like mine.

California is already one of the most expensive places to do business. Between inflation, high taxes and the rising cost of living, small businesses are being squeezed from all sides. Piling on a billion dollars in new health care premiums each year is unsustainable. Lawmakers must take a step back and look at the big picture.

We all want Californians to have access to quality, affordable health care. But that cannot happen if providing our employees with coverage becomes unaffordable. True health care reform means balancing access and affordability, not tipping the scales toward higher costs and reduced coverage.

If lawmakers are serious about supporting small businesses while expanding access to care, it’s time to stop these mandates and keep health care affordable for the millions of Californians who receive employer-sponsored health coverage. Businesses can’t do it alone — and we shouldn’t be expected to.

Lorraine Salazar is co-owner of Sal’s Mexican Restaurants.