Speaker: Companies ‘terrified’ by O-Care

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday said small businesses are “terrified” of ObamaCare because it has already forced insurance premiums higher and is forcing some to consider closing their doors.

“Premiums are going up, people are losing their coverage, and small businesses are being terrified,” Boehner said on the House floor.

{mosads}Boehner described letters from two of his own constituents, including one who will be forced onto a new healthcare plan that costs $500 more each month. Another, a small-businessman, told Boehner his premiums would double, which could force him to close the business.

“These are just two stories from my district in Ohio, and there’s millions more of them all around the country,” he said.

“The president’s healthcare law is hurting a lot of our constituents,” he added. “If he’s serious about helping them, he can start by making good on his promise and supporting the Keep Your Health Plan Act.”

“I would encourage every member to help keep that promise and vote for this important bill.”

The House will vote Friday on the bill from Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), which would allow insurance companies to continue to offer insurance plans that would otherwise have to be canceled under the law’s reform.

Earlier in the day, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats were likely to offer their own bill, a sign that even Democrats are lining up in support of a legislative fix.

Boehner spoke as President Obama was outlining a solution of his own that would let people continue to use their current plans through 2014. But this idea was immediately raising questions about whether insurance companies would comply with this option, and whether Obama has the authority to make this change without a change to the law.