The Passage of H.R. 3962: A Historic Moment

The passage today of H.R. 3962 by the US House of Representatives was historic. We are finally within reach of effecting real change change that has been hard fought, is long overdue and essential to small businesses survival. Providing Americas 28 million small business owners with high-quality, affordable healthcare got one huge step closer to becoming a reality today.

Small business owners have been mired in a healthcare system that burdens them with inordinate costs, threatens their competitiveness and discourages entrepreneurship. Economic research we released in June shows that without healthcare reform, small business owners will pay nearly $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years to provide health insurance for their employees. Clearly, the cost of doing nothing is too high, and failing to pass healthcare reform legislation this year is unacceptable.

We're pleased to see adjustments to the bill that will benefit small businesses in particular. These include short-term relief through a high-risk pool set to start in 2010, requiring insurers to justify premium increases to discourage price gouging, a requirement that health plans spend at least 85 percent of premium dollars on medical care and individual plans available in the exchange that would save the 22 million self-employed 25 percent on their premiums in 2016. These provisions, along with tax credits, a robust national exchange and strong market reform, specifically the elimination of preexisting condition rules, will go a long way toward getting small businesses the relief they desperately need.

With that said, there's still more work to do. As we await the final Senate bill, it is imperative that all stakeholders remain constructively engaged and focused on enacting comprehensive healthcare reform this year. There are good provisions in the Senate bill that can be merged with H.R. 3962 to improve the final bill ‰specifically additional measures to lower costs. Today was a good day for small business and America, and we must maintain this momentum if we are to succeed. We've come too far to stop now.