Health Plans Legislation

With President Obama pressing Congress to draft viable and fiscally prudent health care reform legislation by October, the debate over how to reform health care has intensified.

This month, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to make health insurance more available and affordable for the employees of small businesses and for the self-employed. The legislation, the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), S. 2795, is sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Norm Coleman (R-MN).

As lawmakers in Congress continue the debate over how to solve the national healthcare crisis, the healthcare concerns of independent booksellers and small businesses are drawing the attention of the national media. On May 5, a front page article in the Business Section of the New York Times detailed the health insurance challenges and concerns of Jeff Levin, owner of Varney's Book Store in Manhattan, Kansas.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business tackled the issue of health insurance for small-business employees on Wednesday, March 14, at a hearing on "challenges and solutions" to health insurance coverage for small businesses. Oren Teicher, ABA COO, attended the morning hearings, which featured witnesses from the small business community, health care experts, and the insurance industry.

On February 13, Sen. John Kerry (D- MA) called a meeting of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to evaluate the current health care landscape for small businesses. The hearing focused on available options, as well as Kerry's contention that there is a need to go beyond Association Health Plans (AHPs) as the sole solution to helping small firms cope with skyrocketing health care costs. In January, Kerry, who is chair of the committee, introduced the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Act (S.

It may be a new year and a new Congress, but providing small businesses access to affordable health care remains a key issue for Capitol Hill lawmakers. Already this year, House Republicans made an unsuccessful attempt to bring Small Business Health Plans (SBHP) legislation to a vote; Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, convened a committee on health care policies; and Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) has holding discussions with Senate Democrats in an effort to finally get SBHP legislation passed.

This week, Kaisernetwork.org's Capitol Hill Watch reported that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is hoping to hold a vote this month on a revised "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act," S. 1955 -- a bill that would allow business and trade associations to pool their members to offer group health coverage through Small Business Health Plans (SBHPs, also known as Association Health Plans). The legislation, which was introduced by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY), is co-sponsored by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Sen.

San Francisco recently joined the growing ranks of local jurisdictions creating new laws that seek to provide health care coverage for the uninsured. On Monday, August 7, it is expected that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will sign legislation that seeks to provide affordable health insurance to the city's approximately 82,000 uninsured adult residents.

The American Booksellers Association is encouraging members who participated in its first-ever Legislative Day at BookExpo America, as well as those who did not, to follow up with their senators and representatives to encourage support for issues of import to independent booksellers. For those who met with their senators, representatives, or congressional staff, ABA suggests a note of thanks for the meeting would provide the perfect opportunity to reiterate their concerns.

Sen. Michael Enzi's (R-WY) attempt to push for a quick vote on The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, S. 1955, was blocked Thursday, May 11, when the Senate voted 55 - 43 against cloture. According to the Los Angeles Times, Enzi said he would work with Senate Democrats to draft compromise legislation, which he would then reintroduce later in the year.

The debate over Small Business Health Plans (SBHP) legislation is heating up this week as the bill's proponents seek a quick vote and opponents look to block the bill, as reported by Reuters.

It is expected that next week the Senate will vote on The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (S. 1955), legislation sponsored by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) that would allow business and trade associations to pool their members to offer group health coverage through Small Business Health Plans (SBHP). The American Booksellers Association is encouraging its members to contact their senators to urge a vote in favor of the bill.

On April 25, ABA COO Oren Teicher wrote booksellers and asked them to contact their senators and urge them to support "The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act," (S. 1955), legislation sponsored by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY). The legislation would allow business and trade associations to band their members together and offer group health coverage on a national or regional basis through Small Business Health Plans (SBHP, also known as Association Health Plans).

It appears that supporters of health care reform finally have momentum on their side. The Senate is nearing a vote on Small Business Health Plans (also known as Associated Health Plans) legislation sometime in May [watch for an important update and a call to action in next week's BTW]; President Bush is touting Health Savings Accounts; and in Massachusetts, on April 12, Republican Gov. Mitt Romney signed a health insurance reform bill that seeks to make health insurance available to every resident of Massachusetts within the next three years.

This week, ABA announced that, at its first-ever Legislative Day', Dawn P. Latham, CAE, director of public policy, for the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), will be on hand to provide attendees with an update on the current status of Association Health Plan (AHP) legislation in Congress. "'Small business health plans is such a critical issue," Latham said. "I look forward to meeting the members of ABA to discuss this important legislation."