Paul Tonko: “If I might add, I know that we want to get into the talk of job creation, but if I might add some of the dialogue that…”

“If I might add, I know that we want to get into the talk of job creation, but if I might add some of the dialogue that has been developed in the district I represent--and I'm sure it's not unique to the 21st District of New York. Again, there is this proliferation of small business that has been the driving force and that has really built our economic recovery from this painful recession. What you will hear time and time again is, if I'm a small operation of 10, 15, 20 people, one person--just one person--in that workforce impacted by a catastrophic illness will throw the actuarial science into a frenzy. That means that your premiums will be adjusted in a way that makes it difficult as the employer to continue to afford that insurance or to have the copayments from the employees. So, as you're suggesting, if you enter this large collection called an ``exchange,'' in which many more numbers than 10, 15, or 20 work in this concept together, it shaves those peaks, and the shock--the premium rate shock--that is dulled is a good thing.”