A French restaurant in Los Angeles and a chain of casual eateries in Florida have stirred yet another tempest in the Affordable Care Act teapot by adding health care surcharges to customers' bills.

Proprietors of both restaurants have levied one to three per cent fees to ready themselves for new health care costs on the horizon. By January 2016, small businesses with 50 to 99 employees will have to cover 95 per cent of their full-time employees with health insurance or pay a fine, under the Affordable Care Act. Businesses of that size were expected to comply this year until the mandate was delayed.

Republique in Los Angeles has added a thee per cent fee it calls "Surcharge Healthy LA". Not long after, eight locations of Gator's Dockside in central Florida followed suit with a one per cent "ACA" fee.

The fees have drawn a lot of attention, good and bad, through social media and now have the attention of other restaurateurs.

Some eateries would be reluctant to pass on such a fee to diners, said Russ Bendel Jr, president of the Orange County chapter of the California Restaurant Association.

"I do think, on a personal level, it might be a little tacky," said Bendel, who owns the Vine in San Clemente, California. "I personally wouldn't want to put that on a check (bill) and leave that impression on a guest."

One Republique customer on the review website Yelp agreed in a January 21 post on her dining experience.

"Something about this strikes me as tacky," said Lisa T of Los Angeles. "Sure, I could take this three per cent out of my 20 per cent tip, but why put me in that position to begin with? A bit silly for such an otherwise upscale experience."

Passing the added health care costs on to customers is a necessity for some operations, whether or not it shows up on the bill as a surcharge.

Orange County, California, restaurant operator Mario Marovic says the Affordable Care Act is another government mandate that erodes razor-thin profits in an industry facing a slow post-recession recovery and rising commodity costs.

Original post:

Health care reform hitting some diners