Pete Domenici: “I rise today to support affordable, adequate and accessible health insurance. We have a bill before the Senate, S. 1955…”

“I rise today to support affordable, adequate and accessible health insurance. We have a bill before the Senate, S. 1955, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Affordability Act of 2006. Chairman Enzi has worked very hard on this bill for many months now and I believe that it will help small business people who are struggling to afford health insurance for themselves, their employees, and their families. I hope that the Senate will pass this bill because the time for Congress to take action on this issue is long overdue. Most people in the U.S. who have health insurance obtain it through their employer or through a family member's employer as a workplace benefit. Small employers however are far less likely than larger employers to provide health insurance to their workers. In my home state of New Mexico, I am embarrassed to say that almost 25 percent of the citizens do not have health care. This is the second highest rate of uninsured in the country. Furthermore, there are approximately 143,909 small businesses in New Mexico, and of these small businesses, only about 37 percent of firms with fewer than 50 employees offer health insurance. For much smaller firms with five or less employees, the numbers are even more staggering; fewer than 50 percent of firms offer health insurance. This is unacceptable. Working people deserve better.…”