Johnson, Walberg Introduce Legislation to Expand Health Care Coverage, Lower Costs for Small Businesses

Statement

Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX), chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, today introduced the Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 1101). Part of a step-by-step process to replace the failed health care law with patient-centered solutions, the legislation would empower small businesses to join together through association health plans (AHPs) to provide their employees greater access to affordable health care.

Chairmen Johnson and Walberg released the following statements upon introduction:

"Due to Obamacare, fewer and fewer American small businesses are offering health care coverage, and that's a problem for American families," Chairman Johnson said. "Everyone knows that large employers are able to provide more affordable health benefits for their employees. That's because they have strength in numbers and don't have to adhere to costly rules and regulations that small businesses do. But this isn't right. Small mom and pop businesses on Main Street shouldn't be treated like second class citizens when it comes to being able to offer health insurance. Bottom-line: if it's good enough for Wall Street, it's good enough for Main Street. This bill would allow small businesses to band together for that same strength in numbers and free them from unfair regulations. It is one good step toward fixing our broken health care system, and I thank Representative Walberg for his support in this effort. Americans want, need, and deserve quality, affordable health care -- and you can rest assured this remains one of my top priorities."

"We are taking an important step toward providing a better way to access quality, affordable health care," Chairman Walberg said. "By allowing small businesses to band together through association health plans, we can lower health care costs for working families. Obamacare not only failed to achieve this important goal, it made our nation's health care challenges even worse. This bill is part of a step-by-step process to deliver commonsense health care reforms that put working families first. Representative Johnson has been leading this important effort for many years, and I look forward to working together to advance these reforms."

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