Heads of major food franchises are backing off on threats to protest the Affordable Care Act with retaliatory business actions. Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter wrote in The Huffington Post Tuesday that Obamacare will not force franchise owners to cut back on employee hours, backtracking on comments he made at a Florida college during the presidential election. And John Metz, owner of over 30 Denny’s restaurants, released a statement saying he will not implement a 5 percent Obamacare surcharge. John Nichols appeared on The Ed Show to talk about the implications of corporate bluffing on Obamacare, saying, ” The Affordable Care Act has been tested legislatively, judiciously, and now politically. It has passed the test.”

—Steven Hsieh