Liz Saville Roberts: “as a cofounder and former chairman of the Rural Health Care Coalition, I rise in support of this bill. I thank Mr.…”

“as a cofounder and former chairman of the Rural Health Care Coalition, I rise in support of this bill. I thank Mr. Archer, Mr. Bliley, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Goodling, and Mr. Hastert for their leadership and perseverance. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the conference report to H.R. 3103, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This bill includes sensible, workable provisions to expand access to affordable health care insurance for America's families. This legislation is especially important to my constituents in Kansas. Ten percent of Kansans lack any form of health insurance. These folks are generally small business owners or self-employed farmers and ranchers. This bill takes several steps to bring relief to these individuals and their families by expanding their insurance options. first, this legislation will make health insurance portable. Under H.R. 3103, the 4 million Americans who are staying in their jobs just to maintain their health insurance benefits will finally be free to pursue other opportunities. This 'job lock' is a real problem for not only the employer and the employee, but also for the economy. Today, too many working parents are afraid to pursue new opportunities, start a new career or become an entrepreneur because they don't want to lose the health insurance they now have.”