U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Sens. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) March 30 held a press conference to release a new survey that found overwhelming bipartisan support for small business health plans (SBHPs).
At the press event, ABC Vice President of Government Affairs Bill Spencer joined representatives from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association and the National Association of Wholesalers-Distributors, as well as representatives from Public Opinion Strategies and Lake Research Partners, the firms that conducted the survey.
Commissioned by the NAR, the poll found that 89 percent of respondents support SBHPs, which are similar to association health plans but would not offer self-insured health coverage. SBHPs are a key component of the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2005 (S. 1955), a measure approved last month by the HELP Committee that would allow small businesses to band together to purchase more affordable health insurance.
“The results of the survey go to the heart of why the Senate should pass S.1955 now: the people who make up the bedrock of our economy—small, family-owned businesses—have overwhelmingly issued a mandate for change,” said Enzi. “Allowing small businesses to pool together, combined with relieving regulatory burdens, will improve the business climate and provide more health insurance choices for working families.”
In a bipartisan breakout of support for small business health plans, the survey showed that 93 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Independents and 86 percent of Democrats favored SBHPs.
Enzi, along with co-sponsors Nelson and Burns, introduced the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act last November. The HELP Committee March 15 voted 11-9 to approve the measure, which now awaits consideration by the full Senate.
Click here to view the results of the NAR survey.
For more information, contact Brian Crawford at ABC, crawford@abc.org.