美国国家公共电台 NPR Uncertainty Over Health Care Law's Future Hobbles Entrepreneurs

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Right now, the Affordable¹ Care Act is still the law of the land. It gave some Americans the comfort to start their own businesses because they didn't have to worry about keeping a job just for the health insurance. But this week's repeal² efforts created uncertainty³ about whether those entrepreneurs could count on that insurance option in the future. From KCUR in Kansas City, Alex Smith reports.

ALEX SMITH, BYLINE⁴: Stinson Dean of Independence, Mo., says when he started his company last May, he laid down a firm rule.

STINSON DEAN: One of the things I wasn't really willing to risk was the health of my family.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Whoa, we're going to go fast.

SMITH: Dean is the proud father of three young children - two girls and a boy. And playing with them in his front yard, he and his wife, Stephanie, talk about the possibility of another. Stinson left a good-paying job to start his company buying Canadian lumber⁵ to sell in the U.S. At the same time, they were expecting their youngest daughter, Julie. It's a move he says was only possible because of the Affordable Care Act.

DEAN: I'm glad it worked out because it's been such a successful, you know, 15 to 18 months.

SMITH: So successful that he's ready to expand, to bring on three or four people, but there's a problem.

DEAN: There's a huge unknown with the ACA and what that's going to look like.

SMITH: The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is still the law of the land. The Republicans are currently proposing far less generous coverage⁶ and subsidies⁷ in the ACA. And the president continues to threaten to cut payments for insurers. And many insurance exchanges remain on shaky ground.

DEAN: What that's doing for me is preventing me to convince folks who are in a similar situation to where I was - in a nice corporate⁸ job making good money with great benefits with kids - convincing them to leave that to work for me with no benefits, like, I'm not going to offer any benefits.

SMITH: Exactly how the ACA has effected entrepreneurs and job growth is still unclear according to Dean Baker⁹ with the left-leaning Center for Economic and Policy Research. There was a sharp increase in entrepreneurial activity in 2013, when insurance marketplaces started. He says that prior to the health law, larger companies were often able to offer health insurance and smaller entrepreneurs were at a disadvantage in attracting talent. But...

DEAN BAKER: Once their workers are able get insurance through the exchange, much of that disadvantage goes away.

SMITH: Baker says uncertainty is poison for any business. And 2017's health care battles have been especially toxic¹⁰ for entrepreneurs.

BAKER: For a lot of small businesses, they're sitting there with some trepidation¹¹, saying, OK, how does this work out? Where we are a year from now? Where are we two years from now? And, presumably, at least some of them are going to be putting their plans on hold.

SMITH: That's the case for Stinson Dean. He sees big opportunities ahead he's not sure he can take advantage of. He just can't promise potential employees they'll have decent insurance in the long run.

DEAN: What about 2019, 2020? So these are the questions I'm being asked by these folks I'm trying to recruit. I don't have an answer for them.

SMITH: The future of the current GOP plan to repeal Obamacare is still uncertain. A vote is possible this week. For NPR News, I'm Alex Smith in Kansas City.

SIMON: And that story part of a reporting partnership¹² with NPR and Kaiser Health News.

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

10 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

11 trepidation   

n.惊恐，惶恐

参考例句：

• The men set off in fear and trepidation.这群人惊慌失措地出发了。
• The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.流行病猖獗因而人心惶惶。

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。