Dave Ratner, the owner of Agawam-based chain Dave's Soda and Pet City, was among more than a dozen people on hand at the White House this week as President Donald Trump signed an executive order to allow small businesses to purchase health insurance in groups and across state lines.
Ratner, a member of the National Retail Federation and Retailers Association of Massachusetts board member, said the NRF invited him to join Trump, administration officials, small business leaders and congressional lawmakers at the White House for the Thursday event.
Contending that his company has struggled in recent years to afford health insurance premiums for its 100-plus employees, Ratner said the measure's language allowing small businesses to form associations to purchase insurance -- as they could before the Affordable Care Act -- will go a long way in helping them compete with larger competitors.
"This was a huge deal for small businesses," he said in an interview. "Just for me personally, I'm competing against Petco, PetSmart, Amazon, Costco, so those folks have so many employees that they can basically self-insure themselves. I can't do that. Now, I -- and I mean collectively small businesses -- have to go buy health insurance and pay way more than the folks who own the big chains -- it's discriminatory against small businesses."
Ratner added that while his company has always provided health insurance to employees far above the minimum threshold, rising premiums under the ACA threaten its ability to continue doing so.
"This year we completely ate the increase," he said. "We'll have to see what happens next time we have to renew. We renewed in May, we had a 10-point-something increase and I just ate it for my guys. But, I don't know how many more times I can do that."
Despite his support for the executive order's small business-related provisions, the Western Massachusetts businessman, who faced criticism and negative company reviews online following his attendance at the White House event, stressed that he did not go to show support for the president.
"I did not do this for Trump," he said. "I did it representing small businesses and I did it for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be in the Roosevelt Room where history has just been made so many times ... If it had been a executive order saying global warming is a hoax, I wouldn't have gone. But, he was doing something that I was fighting for."
The executive order, which some say could deal a major blow to the ACA, permits an overhaul to federal regulations allowing for health insurance plans that don't have to comply with certain consumer protections and benefit rules included in the controversial health care law.
Specifically, it directs Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta to consider expanding access to Association Health Plans, which could allow employers to form groups across state lines.
The measure, which drew swift criticism from Massachusetts Democrats, further directs the Departments of the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services to consider changes to Health Reimbursement Arrangements "so employers can make better use of them for their employees," according to the White House.
Trump cast the order as a "historic announcement," arguing that it will allow more small businesses to form associations to buy health insurance, therefore opening up additional options for employers to buy plans their workers want.
Letting those associations expand and buy coverage across state lines, the Republican added, "will create tremendous competition" and lower prices for millions of Americans.
"This will allow thousands of small business employers to have the same purchasing power as large employers to get more affordable and generous insurance options for their workers," he said before signing the executive order.
The president, who has pledged to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, further argued that the measure represents "the first steps to providing millions of Americans with Obamacare relief."