Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) and her colleagues on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed three initiatives she cosponsored to help expand health care coverage, lower costs, and promote a healthy workforce.
“These important initiatives will help businesses and employees access affordable health care and promote the overall health of families across our district,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “Any replacement for the Affordable Care Act should include reforms that will help lower costs for families and businesses in our district, protect coverage for those on their parents plan and those with preexisting conditions, help job creators, as well as protect the needs of rural communities like the North Country. The measures passed out of our Committee today are commonsense initiatives that will help North Country families and businesses and I look forward to helping them pass through the full House.”
The bills passed out of Committee today include:
- The Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 1101). Introduced by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, this bill would empower small businesses to band together though association health plans (AHPs) to negotiate for lower health insurance costs on behalf of their employees.
- The Self-Insurance Protection Act (H.R. 1304). Introduced by Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), this bill would help ensure robust access to stop-loss insurance by preventing any administration from regulating it as traditional health insurance coverage. As a result, the bill would protect the ability of employers to self-insure, providing greater access to affordable, flexible health care plans for their workers.
- The Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (H.R. 1313). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken actions in recent years that have undermined popular employee wellness programs. This bill, introduced by Chairwoman Foxx, would provide employers the legal certainty they need to offer employee wellness plans, helping to promote a healthy workforce and lower health care costs.
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