[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1714 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1714

    To establish a multiagency nationwide campaign to educate small 
business concerns about health insurance options available to children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2007

 Mr. Kerry (for himself and Ms. Snowe) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 
                          and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish a multiagency nationwide campaign to educate small 
business concerns about health insurance options available to children.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Children's Health 
Education Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) nearly 2,000,000 of the 9,000,000 uninsured children in 
        the United States are currently eligible for the State 
        Children's Health Insurance Program based on their family 
        income, but are not enrolled;
            (2) nearly 4,000,000 uninsured children appear to be 
        eligible for Medicaid, but remain uninsured;
            (3) the State Children's Health Insurance Program appears 
        to reach only 69 percent of its target population;
            (4) according to a study conducted by the Urban Institute 
        in February, 2007, among those eligible for the State 
        Children's Health Insurance Program, children whose families 
        are self-employed or who work for small business concerns are 
        far less likely to be enrolled in that program, specifically 
        that 1 out of every 4 eligible children with parents who work 
        for a small business concern or are self employed are not 
        enrolled, compared with 1 out of 10 eligible children whose 
        parents work for a large firm who are not enrolled; and
            (5) the Federal Government can improve the lives of 
        uninsured families eligible for the State Children's Health 
        Insurance Program through increasing awareness of the 
        availability, eligibility, and enrollment process for the State 
        Children's Health Insurance Program (and other private options 
        for health insurance) among owners of small business concerns.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' 
        means the Small Business Administration and the Administrator 
        thereof, respectively;
            (2) the term ``certified development company'' means a 
        development company participating in the program under title V 
        of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et 
        seq.);
            (3) the term ``Medicaid program'' means the program 
        established under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1396 et seq.);
            (4) the term ``Service Corps of Retired Executives'' means 
        the Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized by section 
        8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1));
            (5) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 632);
            (6) the term ``small business development center'' means a 
        small business development center described in section 21 of 
        the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648);
            (7) the term ``State'' has the meaning given that term for 
        purposes of title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1397aa et seq.);
            (8) the term ``State Children's Health Insurance Program'' 
        means the State Children's Health Insurance Program established 
        under title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et 
        seq.);
            (9) the term ``task force'' means the task force 
        established under section 4(a); and
            (10) the term ``women's business center'' means a women's 
        business center described in section 29 of the Small Business 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 656).

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a task force to conduct a 
nationwide campaign of education and outreach for small business 
concerns regarding the availability of coverage for children through 
private insurance options, the Medicaid program, and the State 
Children's Health Insurance Program.
    (b) Membership.--The task force shall consist of the Administrator, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, and 
the Secretary of the Treasury.
    (c) Responsibilities.--The campaign conducted under this section 
shall include--
            (1) efforts to educate the owners of small business 
        concerns about the value of health coverage for children;
            (2) information regarding options available to the owners 
        and employees of small business concerns to make insurance more 
        affordable, including Federal and State tax deductions and 
        credits for health care-related expenses and health insurance 
        expenses and Federal tax exclusion for health insurance options 
        available under employer-sponsored cafeteria plans under 
        section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
            (3) efforts to educate the owners of small business 
        concerns about assistance available through public programs; 
        and
            (4) efforts to educate the owners and employees of small 
        business concerns regarding the availability of the hotline 
        operated as part of the Insure Kids Now program of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services.
    (d) Implementation.--In carrying out this section, the task force 
may--
            (1) use any business partner of the Administration, 
        including--
                    (A) a small business development center;
                    (B) a certified development company;
                    (C) a women's business center; and
                    (D) the Service Corps of Retired Executives;
            (2) enter into--
                    (A) a memorandum of understanding with a chamber of 
                commerce; and
                    (B) a partnership with any appropriate small 
                business concern or health advocacy group; and
            (3) designate outreach programs at regional offices of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services to work with district 
        offices of the Administration.
    (e) Website.--The Administrator shall ensure that links to 
information on the eligibility and enrollment requirements for the 
Medicaid program and State Children's Health Insurance Program of each 
State are prominently displayed on the website of the Administration.
    (f) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the 
        Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 
        and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 
        Business of the House of Representatives a report on the status 
        of the nationwide campaign conducted under subsection (a).
            (2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include a status update on all efforts made to educate 
        owners and employees of small business concerns on options for 
        providing health insurance for children through public and 
        private alternatives.
                                 <all>