Nydia M. Velazquez: “in every State and every district when we meet with small business owners, their number one concern is rising health…”

“in every State and every district when we meet with small business owners, their number one concern is rising health care costs. Even as we sit here, the cost of health care continues to rise. Today's legislation will help address this problem. Association health plans will provide an employer-based solution to help the sector of the economy that is being hit the hardest: small businesses. Critics of the bill will come forward today and tell you how association health plans are going to lead to a devastating impact on small businesses and the insurance market. Well, from where I stand, it is hard to imagine that it could get any worse. We have 45 million Americans without health insurance and over half are small businesses and their employees. This includes up to 7 million children that have family members working for small firms. And for the last 5 years, small businesses have seen insurance costs increase by over 60 percent. These are statistics that are so often stated in this town that we forget what the real impact is. When an employer has to spend an additional $3,000 a year for coverage per employee year after year, it is easy to understand why some are dropping coverage all together. We have a modest solution before us today that no one can claim will address all of the problems, but it can provide some help in a market that needs it. I think it is important to talk about what association health plans are and what they are not.…”