October 15, 2012 1:08PM # D.C. Employers: ObamaCare ‘Exchange’ an ‘Undefined, Untested, More Expensive Entity’ Offering ‘Standardized, Cookie-Cutter Coverage’ By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) --- SHARE More than 150 local employers have [written](http://www.naifanet.com/100000/Small%20Employer%20Letter%20FINAL%20with%20addendum%2010-3-2012.pdf?CFID=1910208&CFTOKEN=68781248) a letter to [the District’s ObamaCare board](https://www.cato.org/no-state-is-going-to-be-able-to-be-fully-certified-on-jan-1/), protesting the destruction of D.C.‘s individual and small-group health insurance markets: > Those of us who may have had doubts about the health reform law were comforted by President Obama’s repeated assurances that, “If you like your health plan…you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period.” But, by dismantling and recasting the separate health insurance marketplaces that serve small employer groups and individuals in the District, D.C. policymakers would take away the option of keeping the health plan that they now have. Rather, to continue to offer health benefits to employees after 2013, small employers like us would have no choice but to go to an undefined, untested, more expensive entity to obtain coverage. Especially in these uncertain economic times, many employers, and their workers, must be given the time to adjust their budgets for the estimated price increases of the Exchange. In addition, many of us have long-established relationships with health insurers we know and are guided by broker advisors who understand our unique needs. We do not want to be forced to buy the standardized, cookie-cutter coverage that would be offered through a government-run Exchange… > > > Indeed, forcing all consumers seeking Individual or Small Group health coverage to go to the Exchange to purchase health plans runs counter to the ACA’s essential promise of more – not less – choice…The diversity of small employer health plans currently available in the District cannot be replicated in the standardized plans offered by the Exchange. Small employers rely on choice amongst a wide array of health plans available in the current commercial marketplace and the flexibility to design contributions to complement each employer’s unique budgetary and financial situations…With the many changes that will be required of employers of all sizes under the new federal health care reform law, it seems unreasonable to add to those concerns by eliminating the commercial marketplace which we know for an undefined, unfamiliar and untested Exchange-driven marketplace. > > > In addition, we cannot ignore the significant costs of administering the Exchange which will undermine one of the key goals of the federal law — affordability. Signatories include such notorious right-wing groups as the Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence: 1. ACDI/VOCA 2. AIDS United 3. Allen & Associates 4. Alliance Insurance Services 5. American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists 6. American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Inc. 7. American Bakers Association 8. American Cleaning Institute 9. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy 10. American Immigration Lawyers Association 11. American Insurance Association 12. American Road & Transportation Builders Association 13. American Society of Association Executives 14. Andre Chreky, the salon spa 15. Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington 16. Ashcraft & Gerel LLP 17. Association for Competitive Technology 18. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology 19. Axar Management 20. Beacon Consulting Group, Inc. 21. Blue House Design 22. Bogart 23. Brady Campaign and Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence 24. Brawner Management, LLC 25. Building Owners and Managers Association International 26. Capital Medical Associates 27. Center for Constitutional Litigation, P.C. 28. Center for Nonprofit Advancement 29. CGH Technologies, Inc. 30. Chef Geoff’s 31. Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind 32. Combined Properties, Incorporated 33. Communications Development 34. Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area 35. David All Group 36. DC Chamber of Commerce 37. Development Gateway, Inc. 38. Distilled Spirits Council 39. Elizabeth M. Ross and Kenneth M.H. Lee, M.D., P.C. 40. Entertainment Software Association 41. Environmental Law Institute 42. EOP Group, Inc. 43. Euroconsultants, Inc. 44. Federation of American Hospitals 45. Good Neighbors, LLC 46. Government Accountability Project 47. Hemsley Fraser Group 48. High Noon Communications 49. History Matters 50. Howard Eales, Inc. 51. Howard W. Phillips & Co. 52. ICI Mutual Insurance Company 53. Innovators Network Foundation 54. Interstate Natural Gas Association of America 55. J. Todd Miller & Associates, Inc. 56. Kaludis Consulting Group, Inc. 57. Katz, Marshall & Banks LLP 58. Knightsbridge Restaurant Group 59. LEVICK 60. LimeLeap Solutions 61. Marvin A. Address & Associates, Inc. 62. McBride Real Estate 63. McClendon Center 64. MCLA Inc. 65. Metro TeenAIDS 66. Metropolitan Washington Road & Transportation Builders 67. Miller & Shook Companies 68. National Association for Gifted Children 69. National Association of Health Underwriters 70. National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners 71. National Association of State Departments of Agriculture 72. National Council for Interior Design Qualification 73. National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association 74. National Mining Association 75. National Propane Gas Association 76. Navista, Inc. 77. NetChoice 78. Pacific Cargoes 79. Park Limited 80. Passion Food Hospitality 81. Promundo-US 82. Radio Television Digital News Association / Foundation 83. Regis & Asociates, PC 84. Reiter & Hill 85. Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington 86. RULG-Ukranian Legal Group, P.A. 87. Sabin Vaccine Institute 88. Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates 89. Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP 90. The Council for Responsible Nutrition 91. The Episcopal Center for Children 92. The Farm Credit Council 93. The Ford Agency, Inc. 94. The Gabriel Company, LLC 95. The Prime Rib, Inc. 96. Timothy A. Price, MD, PC 97. Triad Communication / TRC Real Estate 98. U.S. Grains Council 99. U.S. Soccer Foundation 100. United Fresh Produce Association 101. Vinyl Siding Institute, Inc. 102. Vogel, Slade & Goldstein, LLP 103. Waterman and Associates 104. Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack, L.L.P. 105. Widmeyer Communications 106. Appleseed Foundation 107. Atelier Architects 108. Bockorny Group 109. Bond & Pecaro 110. Bonner, Kiernan, Trebach & Crociata 111. Bonstra Haresign Architects 112. Capitol Process Services, Inc. 113. Carr Workplaces 114. Casey Trees 115. Clement’s Pastry Shop 116. Communications Development Incorporated 117. Computer World Services 118. Colonnade Condos 119. Compressus 120. Environmental Design & Construction 121. The Fund for American Studies 122. Fund for Global Human Rights 123. Futures Industry Association 124. Hartman-Cox Architects 125. Hecht, Spencer and Associates 126. The Herald Group 127. I. Gorman Jewelers 128. International Center for Research on Women 129. International Dairy Foods Association 130. International Franchise Association 131. James E. Brown & Associates, PLLC 132. Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation’s Capital 133. Jewish Women International 134. King Branson LLC 135. Land Trust Alliance 136. Law Resources 137. MAG America 138. Man-Machine Systems Assessment, Inc. 139. McBee Strategic 140. McBride Real Estate Services 141. Medical Device Manufacturers Association 142. Medical Society of the District of Columbia 143. Metropolitan Engineering, Inc. | Shapiro – O’Brien 144. National Institute of Building Sciences 145. North American Millers’ Association 146. North American Securities Administrators Association 147. Pascal & Weiss, P.C. 148. Poker Players Alliance 149. Potomac Communications Group, Inc. 150. Public Properties 151. Rust Insurance Agency, LLC 152. Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access 153. Salsa Labs 154. Society of the Plastics Industry 155. Springboard Enterprises 156. Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership 157. The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars 158. Washington Partners, LLC One might add the Center for Science in the Public Interest, whose president emeritus [complains](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-bad-news-for-small-business-in-dcs-obamacare-plan/2012/10/12/3c1885d8-13e2-11e2-bf18-a8a596df4bee_story.html), “the only option the board publicly considered has been this unpopular and unnecessary plan to close the private marketplace to many businesses.” ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).