Many Americans were disappointed when recent healthcare overhaul efforts failed. Whether they supported the proposed fix or not, many Floridians are now left wondering if they are stuck with all of the downsides of the Affordable Care Act.

They dont have to be, if Congress can regroup and refocus on more modest, achievable changes. One of those should be to stop the health insurance tax from going back into effect in 2018.

Emerging from a divisive healthcare fight has been broad agreement about the need to reduce healthcare premiums, especially on working families, senior citizens, minority communities and small businesses. The HIT tax, which would raise healthcare costs, can play no part in such a solution.

If allowed to return as scheduled, the Health Insurance Tax (HIT) will reach 100 million consumers and business owners in their health insurance bills, taking $156 billion from them over 10 years.

It is especially harmful because the HIT disproportionately affects small businesses and their employees. Family health insurance for a worker employed by a Main Street company, startup or family-owned business will be $500 more expensive each year. For a corner deli or a niche manufacturer, this can add up to many thousands of dollars in extra expenses, and maybe a red number on the bottom line by years end.

We have to consider the consequences of putting government pressure to these companies. Florida is home to nearly 2.2 million small businesses, including 600,000 Hispanic-owned enterprises. They comprise 98.9 percent of our employers and provide jobs for 3 million people.

Small businesses are also growing at a faster clip than the rest of the economy. And U.S. Commerce Department data shows that the minority-owned business sector is becoming a larger share of our economic base, rising from 22 percent to 29 percent of U.S. firms between 2007 and 2012. Florida is even more dependent on minority entrepreneurship. For example, in Miami, 69.2 percent of businesses are Hispanic-owned.

These powerful job creators are especially vulnerable to disruption. More than a third of Florida businesses are less than five years old, according to the U.S. Census Bureaus Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs. And they generally have less capital on hand to absorb unexpected costs.

This is a big part of the reason that of the 152,000 to 286,000 job losses Oliver Wyman predicts will occur due to the HIT tax, the majority will fall on small businesses. In Florida, that is synonymous with a large, negative impact on Hispanic communities.

These are among the many reasons that 400 Democrats and Republicans came together to suspend the HIT for 2017. Their plan was to allow time to craft a lasting solution to get rid of this tax.

Without congressional intervention, the HIT will return Jan. 1. Health insurance companies are already adding the costs to their 2018 premium calculations, so there is only a short window of opportunity before businesses and consumers pay for lawmakers inaction.

JULIO FUENTES, TALLAHASSEE

Editors note: Fuentes is president of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

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POINT OF VIEW: Don't quit, refocus on healthcare reform wins - Palm Beach Post