ABC is joining more than 30 other organizations as part of the Stop the HIT Coalition to support the Jobs and Premium Protection Act (S. 1880), introduced Nov. 16 in the U.S. Senate, which would repeal the Health Insurance Tax (HIT) contained in Section 9010 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Under the HIT, which is scheduled to go into effect in 2014, more than $87 billion will be assessed on health insurance companies between 2014 and 2019 – almost all of which will be passed on to consumers in the fully insured marketplace, where 87 percent of small businesses and the self-employed purchase their coverage. The HIT is one of the largest taxes in PPACA that will fall on small businesses, their employees and the self-employed.

In addition, a recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report confirms the assertion that the HIT “would be largely passed through to consumers in the form of higher premiums for private coverage.” A study by former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin indicates that the anticipated impact on a family is as much as three percent – nearly $500 a year.

For more information on the HIT, visit the Stop the HIT Coalition website.