Senate Remains Only Obstacle Between Main Street and Affordable Health Insurance
Release Date: 5/13/2004
The Coalition Supporting Access & Choice Through Association Health Plans (AHP Coalition) released the following statement in response to House passage of legislation that would give millions of small-business owners access to more affordable health insurance through Association Health Plans (AHPs):
 

"Today's vote is a victory for small business and America's 43 million uninsured men, women and families. Today's vote also means there is now just one obstacle standing between millions of small-business owners and more affordable health insurance: the U.S. Senate.

"As members of the Senate consider this legislation, we urge each of them to consider these numbers:

 

  • 25,000,000: More than 25,000,000 of the uninsured are small-business owners, employees or dependents of small businesses with less than 100 employees.
  • 8.5 million: According to CONSAD, a well-respected research firm, AHPs could, by conservative estimates, reduce the number of uninsured by 8.5 million.
  • 93 percent: A recent survey from the Federation of American Hospitals noted that 93 percent of Americans support AHPs as a way to provide affordable health insurance to millions of uninsured workers and their families.

"Those are the numbers and the numbers don't lie.

"Support for AHPs continues to grow, and the House deserves a lot of credit for that support. The AHP Coalition thanks Representatives Sam Johnson (Texas), Cal Dooley (Calif.), Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.), John Boehner (Ohio) and Max Burns (Ga.) for their continued leadership on this issue. Likewise, the AHP Coalition would also like to thank all of the House supporters who stood firm in the face of misleading and dishonest lobbying by big insurance monopolies more concerned about profits than the people who will benefit from more affordable health-care coverage."