WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today said health care reform proposals will raise health insurance premiums and hurt Kansas’ small businesses. Senator Roberts made the remarks at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee where Sandy Praeger, Kansas Insurance Commissioner, provided testimony echoing these concerns.

"There is no question that the spiraling cost of health insurance poses a huge threat to our small businesses. We know that the primary driver behind the rising costs of health insurance is the rapid increase in the cost of health care," Roberts said.

"Clearly, reducing these costs should be the primary goal of health care reform. Unfortunately, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), none of the health care reform bills currently before Congress address this goal in any meaningful way."

The average small group premium in Kansas is currently over $10,000 for a family and $3,800 for an individual. Estimates project that, under the current health care reform proposals, Kansas small businesses could see increases in premiums up to 28% over ten years.

Roberts noted small business owners who want to provide health insurance to their employees are increasingly having to reduce their contributions or cut down on benefits to afford to do so. Some have been forced to drop their coverage altogether, contributing to Kansas’ rising uninsured rate.

"Until we get health care cost trends under control, health care reform will exacerbate, rather than solve, our current problems," Roberts said.

In a letter to Chairman Baucus, CBO stated that "premiums in the new insurance exchanges would tend to be higher than average premiums in the current-law market."

In addition, other non-partisan entities including the Joint Committee on Taxation, the CMS Office of the Actuary and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners have all come to the same conclusion: the health care reform bills currently before Congress will actually result in higher premiums and higher costs for small businesses and individuals.

Kansas has 60,000 small businesses accounting for almost 97% of the state’s employers.

"Under the HELP reform bill, I believe most small businesses in Kansas will be saddled with higher premium costs without having the benefit of the limited tax credits in the bill.

Estimates have found that only 11 percent of small businesses in Kansas’ state cluster would qualify for such benefits.

"We should restart the health care reform process and instead take a step-by-step approach that focuses on lowering the cost of health care for small businesses and for all Americans," Roberts said. Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate HELP Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance. He is Co-Chairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus.

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