Subway CEO says don't worry about Obamacare

Subway CEO Fred DeLuca, who founded the sandwich chain 47 years ago at the age of 17, has urged his franchisees not to "worry about" Obamacare, according to Nation's Restaurant News, a trade publication.

"It’s going to affect the food business and it’s going to make it less competitive, compared to eating at home, for instance," he said. "But probably every operator will have to deal with this. It will be an extra cost on the average hour that you have to pay for. And probably people will raise their prices and pass it on to the consumer."

Dunkin' Brands (DNKN) and other companies that depend on part-time workers are lobbying the Obama administration to relax requirements that they provide health insurance for people who work as little as 30 hours per week. Employers with 50 or more workers are required to offer what's known as "minimum essential" health insurance. Critics say the mandate would create onerous financial burdens on many businesses.

For Subway, Obamacare would apply to franchisees with multiple locations becaues the typical store has about 12 employees. The closely held Milton, Conn., company is taking a more measured tone toward Obamacare than others in the restaurant industry with good reason. As NBC News recently noted, Papa John's (PZZA), Denny's (DENN) and Applebee all saw their reputations suffer among consumers because of critical comments their executives made about the Affordable Care Act.

Speaking later on CNBC, Deluca said Obamacare was the "biggest concern of our franchiees because they don't have enough information" on its potential impact. Their unease understandable. A company spokesperson could not be immediately reached for further comment.

As my colleague Aimee Picchi recently noted, employers pay about $4,664 to insure a single worker and $11,329 for a family on a yearly basis, which is far more expensive than the $2,000 per worker penalty companies face for not following Obamacare starting next year. Many critics say business will find it financially sensible to pay the penalties rather than provide health insurance.

According to data from the Congressional Budget Office cited by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Obamacare will result in 6 million fewer Americans enrolling in employer coverage by 2016. However, the nonpartisan FactCheck.org disputes the idea that Obamacare is a "job killer."

"As we’ve said before (a few times), experts project that the law will cause a small loss of low-wage jobs -- and also some gains in better-paid jobs in the health care and insurance industries," FactCheck says. "Furthermore, some small businesses with fewer than 25 employees are already getting tax credits under the new law to help defray the cost of providing worker coverage."

The debate over Obamcare's impact on the economy won't be over for a long time.

--Jonathan Berr doesn't own shares of the listed stocks. Follow him on Twitter @jdberr.