We join the National Federation of Independent Business in calling for the enactment of Association Health Plans (AHPs). The NFIB has wisely labeled the enactment of the AHPs its top legislative priority.
AHPs would give small businesses the same purchasing power that is currently enjoyed by big businesses, big labor and big government. AHPs would allow small businesses to band together and buy health insurance through bona fide trade associations, according to the NFIB.
The anticipated result would be lower premiums and more employers able to afford health insurance.
This move would be one step toward combating the most pressing issue now facing the small-business community – that is, the rapidly escalating cost of health insurance.
The timing for this proposal couldn’t be better. In recent months, according to the NFIB, general optimism has improved within the small-business sector, but firms remain reluctant to hire new employers due in large part to health insurance costs. The positive economic numbers, said NFIB President Jack Faris, are encouraging.
“The surge in NFIB members’ level of optimism is a direct result of the Jobs and Growth Tax Act going into effect,” said Faris. “However, small-business owners are still reluctant to create new jobs – and the growing chorus from Main Street says the high cost of insurance is to blame. In order to get the economy back in time, America’s small-business owners need AHPs to become the law of the land.”
It is a message you have heard before, but it is worth repeating. Small business is the engine that drives the U.S. economy. And no where is that more telling than in a state like Rhode Island, where the overwhelming majority of businesses are small businesses. The AHPs are a necessary tool and one that small-business owners deserve.
Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed AHP legislation. It has the full support of President Bush and the backing of more than 150 business or trade associations representing 12 million employers and 80 million American workers.
We hope the U.S. Senate will now do the right thing and see that this worthy proposal becomes law.
To remind U.S. Sen. Jack Reed of the importance of this issue, call his Cranston office at 943-3100 or his Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-4642. U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee can be reached in Providence at 453-5294 or in Washington, D.C. at (202) 224-2921.
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