House Committee Passes Association Health Plan Bill; SEMA Celebrates Opening Move By Federal Lawmakers to Lower Small Business Health Care Costs

WASHINGTON--March 17, 2005--SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, applauded the House Education and the Workforce Committee for taking the first step toward enacting into law the "Small Business Health Fairness Act" (H.R. 525). The Committee yesterday approved the legislation that would allow small businesses to purchase affordable health care coverage through a trade association.

SEMA has made passage of this bill, commonly referred to as "Association Health Plans," a top legislative priority for 2005. The association anticipates a difficult campaign to get this bill passed.

The measure now proceeds to the full House where a vote is expected later this spring. The U.S. House of Representatives passed an identical measure in 2004 by a vote of 252-162 with the bipartisan support of 37 Democrats. The current bill has more than 115 bipartisan cosponsors.

"With every passing day, it is more difficult for SEMA member companies, most of which are small businesses, to provide health care coverage to employees and their families. This bill would provide tangible relief," said Corky Coker, SEMA's chairman and president of Coker Tire Co., Chattanooga, Tenn. "SEMA is urging its membership to contact their Representatives in Congress in support of this critical legislation."

Health care plans are generally regulated at the state level although there are several exceptions. Large corporations and trade unions are allowed to offer company health plans that are regulated by the federal government and federal government employees have a similar arrangement. However, small companies are unable to band together and pool their resources under a federal plan. Instead, they face a 50-state barrier of conflicting rules, where a lack of competition in the insurance industry produces high premiums and double-digit rate increases.

H.R. 525 would potentially put small businesses on the same footing as the large companies, trade unions and the federal government by allowing them to purchase federally regulated premiums through their national trade association. The Association Health Plans would provide a bargaining-power mechanism for providing coverage to a vast pool of small companies and their employees. Cost-effective methods for purchasing health plans would translate into stable, affordable premiums.

"We call upon the U.S. House of Representatives to once again pass the Association Health Plan bill and then respectfully request the U.S. Senate to respond to the challenge," said Chris Kersting, SEMA's president and CEO. "Small businesses lead the nation in job creation but they are now having a difficult time finding affordable health care coverage due to the complexity of complying with many different state insurance laws. It is time to provide small employers the same level playing field enjoyed by large companies and trade unions."

SEMA is an active member of the Association Health Plan Coalition, and is working with other automotive aftermarket associations, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Small Business Legislative Council in support of the legislation.

SEMA represents the $30 billion specialty automotive industry. Founded in 1963, the trade association has approximately 5,700 member companies. It is the authoritative source of research data, trends and market growth information for automakers and the specialty auto products industry. The industry provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products for passenger cars, minivans, trucks, SUVs, crossovers and recreational vehicles. For more information, contact SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA 91765-3914; call 909-396-0289; or visit www.sema.org or www.enjoythedrive.com.