[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 5, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH FAIRNESS ACT OF 2004

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 5, 2004

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleague, Sam 
Johnson, in introducing the ``Small Business Health Fairness Act of 
2004.''
  I have long felt that the most pressing crisis we face in health care 
today is the number of uninsured Americans, which currently stands at 
more than 41 million. And the problem is not going away. With health 
care costs continuing to rise sharply across the country, more and more 
employers and workers are sharing the burden of increased premiums. 
Health care costs rose by 14 percent in 2003, and surveys project 
another increase of 13 percent this year. As costs escalate, the ranks 
of the uninsured will increase as well.
  Today we introduce the ``Small Business Health Fairness Act of 
2004,'' which represents a bipartisan solution to this problem. The 
bill gives small businesses the opportunity to band together through 
bona fide trade associations and purchase quality health care for their 
workers at a lower cost.
  The bipartisan bill would increase small businesses' bargaining power 
with health care providers, give them freedom from costly state-
mandated benefit packages, and lower their overhead costs by as much as 
30 percent--benefits that many large corporations like GM and UPS and 
many unions already enjoy because of their larger economies of scale.
  President Bush addressed this point directly last year during a 
speech at the Women's Entrepreneurship Summit, where he said, ``Small 
businesses will be able to pool together and spread their risk across a 
large employee base. It makes no sense in America to isolate small 
businesses as little health care islands unto themselves. We must have 
association health plans.'' The President is right, and we should help 
level this playing field so that small businesses can offer quality 
coverage to their workers.
  Importantly, the bill addresses both the access and cost issues at 
the heart of the health care reform debate, giving uninsured working 
families new hope for a solution that can give them access to quality 
health care. Small businesses in most states are stuck with 
disproportionately high costs because they have to choose from fewer 
than five providers, so AHPs offer them a new option for them to choose 
from. By pooling their resources and increasing their bargaining power, 
AHPs will help small businesses reduce their health insurance costs. 
Most importantly, AHPs will expand access to quality health care for 
the people for whom it is currently out of reach: uninsured working 
families.
  I urge my colleagues to join Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Velazquez, Mr. Dooley, 
Mr. Burns and I in this effort, and to cosponsor this important 
legislation.

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