“We are still small enough that we don’t have a company benefits plan,” said Gelblum, founder of Chapel Hill business Sweeps .
“We are leaving it up to the individual to figure out their own insurance.”
Chapel Hill businesses are preparing for a transition to the Affordable Care Act, but a study conducted by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce shows more than a third of business owners surveyed do not believe they will see any fiscal impact.
The chamber conducted a survey in its 2014 Economic Outlook Briefing that explored local business owners’ opinions about the potential impact of the Affordable Care Act on their organizations.
The survey found 34.8 percent of business owners believe the Affordable Care Act would likely have no significant impact on their organizations.
Of business owners surveyed, 30.5 percent said they believe the Affordable Care Act will negatively affect their business, and 23.9 percent said it would have a positive effect.
The study also showed local businesses are more optimistic about the current economic environment — the number of organizations that believe the economy has negatively affected their growth fell 13 percentage points from last year.
Vimala Rajendran, owner of Vimala’s Curryblossom Café , said business could be better for her restaurant and she doesn’t see any major pickups in the local economy’s future.
