Did you know: the Affordable Care Act could have been a lot worse for small builders?

Robert Markel, CGR

By Robert Markel, CGR
President, Home Builders Association of Greenville 
President and Owner, Hadrian Construction Company

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), it is worth revisiting the point that this legislation could have been a lot worse for small Home Builders and Remodelers if not for the actions of the National Association of Home Builders.

In the version of the Affordable Care Act that passed the U.S. Senate, the mandate to require employers to offer health insurance to its employees would have been effective for any "construction-related business" with five or more employees, even while other businesses had a threshold of 50 employees.  NAHB aggressively lobbied Congress to remove that requirement that clearly would have harmed construction firms.  NAHB organized its members and together the five-employee mandate was removed before the bill was presented to the President for his signature.

As a member of the Home Builders Association of Greenville, you enjoy a three-in-one membership that includes the National Association of Home Builders and the Home Builders Association of South Carolina.  While locally our mission is broad and includes advocacy, as well as promoting and serving the industry, at the state and national level your Home Builders Association has one central mission: representing Home Builders in the halls of government.

Your membership in your Home Builders Association is a vital part of insuring that all Home Builders and related businesses are properly looked after in Washington DC and Columbia.  Please remember that the next time you receive your membership renewal notice.