Small Businesses Split Over Republican Health Plans
Small-business owners have been some of the most vocal opponents of the Affordable Care Act. One trade group fought the overhaul all the way to the Supreme Court.

“Being able to buy health insurance that didn’t completely break us financially was key to our ability to take the risk and become entrepreneurs,” Ms. McCarthy said.

Her opposition highlights a growing schism about the Affordable Care Act among small-business owners — a split exposed as Republicans have pursued reversing much of the law in recent months. The divide also points to an unexpected outgrowth of the Republican agenda in Washington: As lawmakers pushed their plans, public support for the Affordable Care Act grew from new corners.

With so many forces aligned in opposition to the Senate’s proposed changes, the views of small-business owners have not been a decisive factor. But the enthusiasm that a growing number are voicing for the health care law weakened the argument, often cited by Republicans, that small businesses had been harmed by it and need a rollback.

Business owners with a few dozen or more workers often resent the cost and regulatory burden of complying with the law’s mandates, and many have backed the Republican efforts. For those who employ only themselves, however, some of the features of the Affordable Care Act — like coverage for existing conditions and curbs on prices — opened up coverage unavailable to them before the law.

In addition, there is a vocal group of self-employed workers who are, like many people, paying higher premiums and deductibles because of the law. But some of them want lawmakers to adjust the law to address those higher costs, instead of repealing and replacing it entirely.