NFIB: U.S. Senate Takes Steps to Address Health-Care Needs of Small Business

Release Date: 5/11/2004

In response to the blueprint for addressing the problems of rising costs and the uninsured released today by the Senate Republican Task Force on Health Care Costs and the Uninsured, Senior Vice President Dan Danner made the following statement: "The Senate Republican Task Force blueprint contains a number of ideas that would go a long way toward breaking down the barriers that many small-business owners, employees and their dependents face when trying to gain access to quality, affordable health care. Many of the recommendations, including Small-Business Health Plans (also called Association Health Plans or AHPs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and tax credits, would be especially helpful for small-business owners, employees and their families, who continually seek out ways to make affordable health care a reality. "The most significant recommendation embraced by the Taskforce is its inclusion of Small-Business Health Plans in its blueprint for addressing the needs of the uninsured. The value of this important first step cannot be understated. Likewise, it is impossible to overstate the importance of the remedy the Senate already has available to help small business gain access to quality, affordable health care -- the Small Business Health Fairness Act (S. 545). "Despite the efforts of some very committed champions in the Senate like Senators Snowe (Maine), Bond (Mo.) and Talent (Mo.), the Senate still has not taken action on S. 545. The House has passed this legislation six times, and is expected to pass it for a seventh time later this week. The President has stated repeatedly his willingness to sign Small-Business Health Plans into law. We are two-thirds of the way there, and small business is anxiously waiting for the Senate to move this legislation across the finish line and deliver it to the president's desk. "More than 25 million of the uninsured are small-business owners, employees or dependents of small businesses with less than 100 employees. They are the faces of the uninsured we see every day, and they account for the largest segment of the uninsured population. America's small-business owners build our homes, grow our food and fix our cars, but they can't, by themselves, fix our health-care crisis. It is time for the Senate to step up and move forward to pass S. 545."