Todd Tiahrt: “We have under our Health Security Act this week three phases. It is a 3-point plan. The first part of the plan is called…”

“We have under our Health Security Act this week three phases. It is a 3-point plan. The first part of the plan is called the Small Business Health Fairness Act. It allows for consolidated risk pools. The House plan allows small businesses to create these association health care plans, and it gives them the opportunity to join together, through existing trade associations, to purchase health care insurance for their workers at a lower cost, and that is because 60 percent of the nearly 44 million uninsured Americans are employed at small businesses today and/ or they are dependent on someone who is employed by one of the small businesses. By allowing the creation of association health plans, we will significantly decrease the number of uninsured in America. The plan establishes eligibility requirements so that all AHPs, or association health plans, are required to offer fully insured or self-insured benefits certified by the U.S. Department of Labor. It encourages broad participation and coverage by prohibiting discrimination against any kind of certain high-risk individual. It increases the bargaining power. Small businesses will see increased bargaining power with health care providers, more freedom from costly State-mandated packages and lower overhead costs by as much as 30 percent.”