• NASE Members Voice Health Insurance Concerns
• House Votes for Resolution Calling for Small Business Bill of Rights
• NASE on the Road at AEO’s Micro-Business Training Conference

NASE Members Voice Health Insurance Concerns

Health insurance coverage continues to strain the self-employed according to an online member poll by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). Three-quarters of respondents have been uninsured at some point in time with over 20 percent of those without insurance having gone without it for three years or more. This information came during Cover the Uninsured Week, a time where individuals and organizations around the country come together to highlight the necessity for health coverage for all people. Respondents of the poll also overwhelmingly favored health tax credits and association health plans. “The self-employed and micro-business owners are unfairly disadvantaged by the health care system in this country with higher premium costs than corporations and the self-employment tax on their health insurance costs,” said NASE president Robert Hughes. “It does not surprise me that so many members have had to go without health insurance but it is a tragedy that health coverage is out of reach for so many people in this country.” The number one reason given by 49 percent of respondents for not having health insurance was the inability to afford the premium costs. The online poll aimed to grasp members’ health insurance experiences as well as opinions on possible government proposals to address the health care crisis in this country. Overall, respondents favored changes that would provide accessibility and incentive to obtain health insurance. Eighty-three percent of respondents favored health tax credits with which to buy health insurance and 91 percent favored association health plans as a means to purchase affordable health insurance. Additionally, three-quarters of respondents favored the deductibility of health insurance plans associated with health savings accounts. Nearly half of respondents favored the expansion of federal programs like Medicare (48 percent) as well as the creation of state health programs and high risk pools (46 percent). Half of respondents opposed a national, government-managed health care system while 39 percent favored it and 11 percent did not know. “The NASE continues to fight for a fair health care system where micro-business owners and the self-employed can find affordable ways to insure their families and employees,” said Kristie Darien, NASE executive director of the legislative office. “Association health plans, tax credits, and health savings accounts could be solutions to an ever-growing problem in the U.S.” To see the full results of the survey, visit http://advocacy.nase.org/membersurvey/default.asp?SurveyID=2. Methodology: Posted in the members-only portal on the NASE Web site, the survey was available for members to take through the month of April. Nearly 150 NASE members opted-in to the non-scientific survey and members were prohibited from taking it more than once.

House Votes for Resolution Calling for Small Business Bill of Rights

The right to join together to purchase affordable health insurance for small business employees, the right to simplified tax laws, and the right to be free from frivolous lawsuits and restrictive regulations and paperwork were highlighted as small business necessities in a resolution passed in the U.S. House of Representatives recently. H.Res. 22, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that American small businesses are entitled to a Small Business Bill of Rights, was sponsored by Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL) and had 18 co-sponsors. The resolution was agreed to by a voice vote, but not before outcry from Democratic Members of the Small Business Committee. Democrats attempted to get the resolution sent back to the Small Business Committee for further changes after Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) closed the markup of the resolution before Democrats had finished offering amendments. Four Democratic amendments, all rejected on party lines, would have called for protection against increased paperwork if Social Security personal accounts are integrated into the system and increased minority business access to the federal marketplace. Small Business Committee Democrats were outraged that their other amendments were not permitted to be considered. A party-line vote on the House floor allowed the resolution to go to a voice vote without being sent back to the Small Business Committee. The resolution also called for freedom from frivolous lawsuits, relief from energy costs, equal treatment as compared to large businesses, and open access to the government procurement marketplace. To let your legislators know your views about small business needs, visit the NASE online Legislative Action Center at http://advocacy.NASE.org.

NASE on the Road at AEO’s Micro-Business Training Conference

Executive director of the legislative office Kristie Darien and public affairs director Maureen Petron represent the National Association for the Self-Employed at the Association for Enterprise Opportunity’s Annual Conference and Membership Meeting this week. The conference provides micro-business owners with opportunities to attend training workshops and network with other attendees and takes place in a different part of the country each year. This year’s conference is in Portland, Oregon. The AEO is a national association of organizations committed to microenterprise development. The NASE supports the AEO’s ability to help the self-employed and micro-businesses on a local level. The AEO mission of supporting “the development of strong and effective U.S. microenterprise programs to assist underserved entrepreneurs in starting, stabilizing, and expanding businesses” is something that NASE members can benefit from. To learn more about the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, visit http://www.microenterpriseworks.org/.