“The International Franchise Association, a lobbying group that has long expressed concerns about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, released a study this month claiming that franchise businesses will be discouraged from growing and hiring in 2014, when new health-care mandates are scheduled to kick in. The report estimates that the law will negatively affect ‘tens of thousands’ of franchises. It will allegedly impose more than $6.4 billion in increased costs, not including expenses associated with regulatory compliance, and will impact some 3.2 million full-time employees who work for franchise businesses.”