• Association Health Plan Introduced
• Increase in Minimum Wage Likely in the 109th
• NWBC Finds Women Employer Firms Continue to Show Strength

Association Health Plan Introduced

After President Bush encouraged a bill for association health plans (AHP) in his State of the Union address, both the House and Senate have introduced such legislation. Representatives Sam Johnson (R-TX), John Boehner (R-OH), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and Albert Wynn (D-MD) introduced H.R. 525 in early February and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) along with numerous other Senators introduced its companion S. 406 last week. “Access to health care and the cost of health insurance remain the leading concern among small businesses, particularly as costs continue to rise. I join the President in renewing the call to create association health plans so that small businesses can join together to purchase affordable health care for their employees. As the sponsor of the Small Business Health Fairness Act, I look forward to continuing to lead this fight in the Senate on behalf of small business,” Snowe said. The bills, titled “Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005,” will provide for the establishment and governance of association health plans to help improve access to quality, affordable health coverage for entrepreneurs. The NASE supports association health plans to improve access and choice for the self-employed and micro-businesses with regards to medical coverage for themselves and their employees. AHPs would help the self-employed and micro-business owners in receiving cost effective and comprehensive health coverage by allowing them to purchase health insurance in large pools through bona fide associations. AHPs can reduce health insurance costs by 15% - 30% by allowing small businesses to join together to obtain the same economies of scale, purchasing clout, and administrative efficiencies now available to employees in large employer and union health plans. Seven in 10 owners of the smallest businesses report they do not provide any type of health care coverage to eligible employees, according to the 2002 NASE "Affordability in Health Care" study. Costs are cited as the chief reason for this trend. On average, a worker in a firm with less than 10 employees pays 18 percent more for health insurance than a worker in a firm with 200 or more employees. “Micro-businesses are so important to this nation’s economy,” said NASE executive director of the legislative office, Kristie Darien. “It is critical they be able to access adequate health coverage at affordable rates.” Last year the House passed AHP legislation and is likely to do so again. H.R. 525 has nearly 100 co-sponsors. The fight for AHPs will be fought again in the Senate. For more information on association health plans or to contact your Members of Congress to encourage them to vote for H.R. 525 and S. 406, visit the online NASE Legislative Action Center at http://advocacy.NASE.org.

Increase in Minimum Wage Likely in the 109th

This week the Senate will debate a minimum wage increase as an amendment to a bankruptcy overhaul bill. The last time Congress raised the minimum wage was in 1997 to $5.15 an hour. Some increase in the wage is likely to occur this Congress as senators on both sides of the aisle plan to propose an increase. “My sense is this is probably a good time [to increase the wage] with the economy growing the way it has,” Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) said. Santorum is expected to introduce language that would raise the minimum wage by $1.10 over two years. Santorum’s proposed increase will be an alternative to Democrats’ hopes of a raise to $7.25 over 26 months. Republicans blocked an attempt to raise the wage to $7 an hour over two years during the 108th Congress. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) said Santorum’s alternative has the support of the Republican leadership. To contact your legislators on this issue, visit the online Legislative Action Center at http://advocacy.NASE.org. NWBC Finds Women Employer Firms Continue to Show Strength Between 1997 and 2001, women-owned employer establishments were just as likely as all employer establishments to have remained in business, and exhibited more employment resiliency than average, according to a study by the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC). Sixty-eight percent of women-owned employer establishments in existence in 1997 remained in business in 2001 (as compared to 69.8 percent of all businesses). Additionally, they proved to be more resilient than employer firms overall with a reported 9.3 percent decline in employment compared to a 10.9 percent decline overall during this time. Women-owned establishments also held more of their employee base (27 percent compared to 24 percent overall). In response to the growth of women business owners, the NASE launched http://women.NASE.org last year as part of its Women Entrepreneurship Initiative. With articles and resources updated monthly, the site offers a source of education and inspiration for women entrepreneurs. To read the full issue brief on the study, visit the NWBC Web site at http://www.nwbc.gov/ResearchPublications/issuesBrief.html.