Government Relations Action Alert

 Urgent! Phone Calls & Emails Needed NOW to Members of the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations Opposing H.R. 660, the Small Business Health Fairness Act (AHPs)

April 7, 2003

THE ISSUE AT HAND

On April 8, 2003, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Employer-Employee
Relations will be "marking up" the Small Business Health Fairness Act, H.R. 660. A "mark up" is the term of art for the process by which a congressional committee takes action on legislation. The bill will be discussed section by section by the subcommittee or committee members; members of the committee or subcommittee are usually offered the opportunity to propose changes, which are literally marked on the bill. All changes must be approved by a majority vote.

H.R. 660 aims to provide small businesses, including associations, with a better opportunity to purchase health insurance to their employees through association health plans (AHPs). NASW is supportive of the intent of H.R. 660 to increase access to health care coverage for working people we oppose this particular bill. H.R. 660 would exempt AHPs from state laws and regulation, eviscerating existing consumer protections.

ACTION NEEDED

Please call, FAX, or email the U.S. Representatives listed below and ask them to oppose the Small Business Health Fairness Act.

House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Employer- Employee Relations
Chairman: Sam Johnson (R-TX)
Vice Chairman Jim DeMint (R-SC)
John Boehner (R-OH) (Chairman of the Full Education and Workforce Committee)
Cass Ballenger (R-NC)
Buck McKeon (R-CA)
Todd Platts (R-PA)
Patrick Tiberi (R-OH)
Joe Wilson (R-SC)
Tom Cole (R-OK)
John Kline (R-MN)
John Carter (R-TX)
Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

Ranking Minority Member: Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
Dale Kildee (D-MI)
John Tierney (D-MA)
David Wu (D-OR)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Ed Case (D-HI)
Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)

A sample letter has been posted on NASW's Congress Web to email or fax to Members of Congress. A sample phone message follows. All Members can be reached through the Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121. Individual telephone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses are available through NASW's Congress Web, www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/grassroots/congressweb.asp. If you make a phone call, please let us know via email at advocacy@naswdc.org.

Sample Phone Message

My name is ________________ from _________________ (city, state). As a constituent, professional social worker, and member of the National Association of Social Workers, I am calling to ask Representative ____________ (last name) to oppose the Small Business Health Fairness Act, H. 660, in tomorrow's subcommittee markup.

H.R. 660 would exempt association health plans from state laws and regulations, thereby eviscerating existing consumer protections and coverage requirements.

I would appreciate the Representative’s strong opposition. Thank you.

TIMING

It is critical for opponents to be heard in the next 24 hours since H.R. 660 has a high profile.

BACKGROUND

AHPs aim to provide small businesses the opportunity to join together through trade and professional associations in order to collectively purchase health benefits at more reasonable rates than they are typically offered on their own. Current law requires AHPs to be regulated under both federal and state law. The Small Business Fairness Act would exempt AHPs from state laws, consumer protections, and other safeguards­ significantly increasing the risk for fraud and abuse. Recently, failures of association-type health plans have left more than 100,000 participants nationwide with over $30 million in unpaid medical bills.

The National Governors' Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners have already shared their strong opposition to AHPs with Congress. Their reasoning is that although AHPs could reduce insurance costs for some companies with young, healthy workers, many small businesses with older and sicker employees would be left behind in the regular insurance market, facing significantly higher rates. Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that actually AHPs would result in higher premiums for 80 percent of small businesses and their workers, which ultimately would result in more uninsured Americans.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

THANKS FOR YOUR ADVOCACY!