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San Diego Small Business Group Calls Obamacare Repeal Misguided

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan are ready to repeal Obamacare, and fast.
Cliff Owen AP
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan are ready to repeal Obamacare, and fast.

San Diego Small Business Group Calls Obamacare Repeal Misguided
A San Diego coalition of small businesses has added its voice to the chorus of opposition to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

A local coalition of small businesses says repealing the Affordable Care Act would lead to unaffordable premiums and job losses.

The Main Street Alliance of San Diego has nearly 200 members.

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The Meza Family Restaurant Group operates Ponce's Mexican Restaurant in Kensington and Rocio's Restaurant in Portland, Ore.

The group's director of operations, Mikey Knab, said the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, is working.

"It allows smaller businesses like ours to bargain, not necessarily collectively, but on a marketplace, where we are pooled together and we’re able to get lower premiums for our team," he explained.

Knab added that he's noticed a big difference since the ACA took effect.

“Our employees have had more access to preventative healthcare, which allows them to be happier, healthier, and also less likely to call in sick for work, which is really important, when you only have somewhere between four and 15 employees on shift at a time," he said.

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Employers with fewer than 100 workers are eligible to buy health insurance through a program called Covered California for Small Business.

According to a just-released federal report, one in five consumers of the Obamacare Marketplaces in 2014 was a small business owner or self-employed.