House passes small-business health plan bill

July 27, 2005

Bill would allow small business professional's to band together for lower costs

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Small Business Health Fairness Act, H.R. 525, late Tuesday.

The legislation, will allow small businesses and self-employed workers to band together through a trade or professional association to negotiate lower health insurance costs for participants. Small-business health plans would operate under the same rules as federally regulated large corporate and union plans that provide group health insurance to all participants regardless of where they live.

The bill was introduced earlier this year by Reps. John Boehner, R-Ohio; Sam Johnson, R-Texas; Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y.; and Albert Wynn, D-Md.; and by Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine; Jim Talent, R-Mo.; Kit Bond, R-Mo.; and Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.


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