If  you talk to a small business owner about healthcare reform laws, the  Affordable Care Act in particular, that owner probably will tell you  that there is uncertainty of what the reforms will mean to the business,  employees and possible expansion and hiring. Many small businesses have  refrain from hiring and expanding waiting for a ruling from the Supreme  Court. Others have refrained before the case was heard not knowing how  the law would impact the business.

CNN Money's Jose Pagliery breaks it all down.

The  health reform law is chock full of new rules and benefits for small  businesses -- and all are now on the line at the Supreme Court.

The  2010 Affordable Care Act includes everything from a different way to  shop for insurance to a tax credit that rewards employers for insuring  workers.

There are so many facets to the law that even partial  survival could yield some benefits to entrepreneurs, such as the tax  credit. That's why John Arensmeyer, who leads the pro-reform group Small  Business Majority, said striking down the whole law would be a  nightmare.

"All the benefits will go away," Arensmeyer said. "We'll be thrown right back into the unsustainable system we've had to date."

If  the justices elect to keep some parts, while knocking down others, the  906-page law could become even more confusing than it is now. Here's a  list of key provisions -- and what could happen to small businesses if  they're maintained or discarded.

Fines: Starting in 2014, the law  requires any company with at least 50 full-time employees to provide  insurance or pay fines. The size of the penalty depends on a formula in  the law.

If one or more workers turns to the government for help  buying insurance, the company will be assessed a penalty of at least  $40,000, depending on the size of its workforce. If this provision  vanishes, there's one less rule for small businesses to worry about.

But  the rule affects 200,000 small businesses, a tiny fraction of the  nation's approximately six million employers. More than 96% of small  businesses fall below the 50-employee threshold.

The mandate  counter balances another provision, one that forces insurers to take on  people with pre-existing conditions. The idea of the mandate is to force  healthy people who otherwise might not get insurance to join the pool  of the insured, thus diluting the cost of health care.

If the  mandate disappears but the 50-plus employee rule stays, insurance costs  could skyrocket for small businesses who will be forced to provide  workers with insurance.

Starting in 2014, companies with up to  100 workers will have the option to buy lower cost health insurance  through employer-only exchanges set up by the states.

They're  called Small Business Health Options Programs, and these exchanges are  intended to bring down the cost of health care for small firms. They  will make it possible for business owners to compare similar insurance  plans -- just as consumers shop for other services. They also could help  small firms by allowing them to effectively add their employees to a  much larger pool of insurance customers.

Since 2010, some small  businesses have received tax credits rewarding them for providing  workers with health insurance. Eligible companies must have no more than  25 workers and pay average salaries of $50,000 or less.

Losing the tax credits would mean no more help from the federal government, which averaged $2,700 last year.

But  it has turned out to be an underwhelming tax credit. Employers say  applying for the credit involves a lengthy, complicated formula that  sometimes yields very little financial help. Only 170,300 companies  received it last year for tax year 2010, even though the government  estimates between 1.4 million and 4 million are eligible.

Since  2011, insurance companies have been required to spend at least 80% of  every dollar on medical care and not administrative costs -- or refund  the difference.

This rule, known as the medical loss ratio, is  especially important for small businesses. Administrative costs  typically have taken up a much larger chunk of small companies'  insurance costs when compared to large companies.

Eliminating the ratio would drive up insurance costs for many small companies.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/15/smallbusiness/health-reform-law/index.htm

From  the Cornfield,  with the good there is always the bad. The decision by  the Supreme Court cannot come too soon for many small businesses.es.