• Health Care on the Legislative Agenda
• June NASE Member Poll: Federal Small Business Programs
• NAWBO Holds Annual Women’s Business Conference

Health Care on the Legislative Agenda

Robert Menendez Last month the National Association for the Self-Employed joined over 150 national organizations to raise awareness of the nation’s nearly 45 million uninsured Americans during Cover the Uninsured Week 2005. Health care continues to be a top priority for the NASE as the association follows the action in Washington, D.C. This week the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1812, the Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005. The legislation would provide grants to “navigators” who would guide patients to the best treatment options as well as give referrals. It is aimed at chronically ill, uninsured patients in rural and low-income areas. The bill, sponsored by Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ), passed with a voice vote on the floor on Monday. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) introduced the companion bill, S. 898, which was approved by the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in late April. The Senate version has been placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar so it is likely it will come to a vote in the near future. A new study found that the uninsured population has seen an increase in immigrants. While the native-born American population makes up the majority of the uninsured population, immigrants now count for 26 percent of the uninsured population, up from 19 percent in 1994, according to the study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Of the 44.7 million U.S. residents that were uninsured in 2003, 11.6 million were immigrants up from 6.9 million in 1994. The NASE will continue to track important health care priorities in Congress. To let your legislators know your views on health care reform, visit the online NASE Legislative Action Center at http://advocacy.NASE.org. To read more about the Employee Benefit Research Institute, visit http://www.ebri.org/. Kay Bailey Hutchison

June NASE Member Poll: Federal Small Business Programs

Take the online member poll on federal small business programs. These programs include SBA Office of Advocacy, the Small Business Development Centers, SCORE and the SBA Micro-Loan Program. As deficits continue to increase and the federal budget is tightened and funds to these important programs are at risk of being substantially cut, the NASE wants to hear your thoughts. Let the NASE know your opinions on these programs by visiting the MyNASE Web site at http://my.nase.org/. Log in to your free MyNASE Web Account. If you have not set up an account, you can do so at http://my.nase.org/ with your member number. Let your voice be heard in the association by taking this federal small business programs survey before the end of June.

NAWBO Holds Annual Women’s Business Conference

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) held its annual Women’s Business Conference last week in Orlando, Florida. Members from all over the country convened at Disney’s Contemporary Resort for the 30th anniversary celebration of NAWBO. The conference included speeches by business leaders, focused breakout sessions to give women entrepreneurs the tools and skills needed to broaden their business knowledge, as well as great networking opportunities for women to learn from one another. Leadership awards were also presented. NAWBO has 8,000 members in nearly 80 chapters nationwide, ranging from sole proprietorship to hundreds of employees in all areas of the country. It works on behalf of the interests of all women entrepreneurs in all industries. Executive director of the legislative office Kristie Darien and public affairs associate Katy Dyer represented the National Association for the Self-Employed at the conference. To learn more about the National Association of Women Business Owners or the Women’s business conference, visit http://www.nawbo.org/. For many tools for women entrepreneurs, visit the NASE’s Women’s Resource Center at http://women.NASE.org/.