i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time . 
mr. speaker , i rise in strong support of h.r. 525 , the small business health fairness act , designed to allow small businesses to create large insurance pools in order to give them market power which will allow them to purchase quality health insurance at affordable prices through association health plans . 
in truth , our biggest bipartisan failure in this congress has been our inability to help 45 million , now pushing 50 million , americans who do not have health insurance . 
sixty percent of these people work in small businesses or are self-employed . 
unfortunately , small business employers either can not afford to offer health insurance or offer it at premium costs that employees can not afford . 
small businesses and their employees need our help . 
ahps are not a panacea , but they are a step in the right direction . 
ahps , association health plans , will be subject to federal consumer protections , unlike what you may have heard , such as continuation of coverage ; federal claims procedures for benefit denials and appeals ; guaranteed portability and renewability of health coverage for those with preexisting conditions ; as well as the mental health parity act , the women 's health and cancer rights act , and the newborns ' and mothers ' health protection act . 
we have also heard that ahps will allow for cherry-picking , that only the healthiest will be signed up . 
that is not true due to the antidiscrimination language in the bill . 
really and centrally , opponents claim that ahps are bad because they do not provide mandated state benefits . 
this misanalysis reflects some of the backward thinking in our health care system , that people would put mandated benefits ahead of prevention . 
that does not make sense . 
consider a state 's mandated coverage for diabetes supplies . 
but what good is mandated benefits for diabetes supplies if you can not afford to go to the doctor , and therefore do not know you have diabetes ? 
under ahps you have an affordable , basic policy which covers doctors ' visits . 
therefore , you can get checkups and learn about your risk of diabetes or other health problems . 
the doctor can give you advice , prescribe life-style changes , and help you overcome , control , or avoid health problems . 
in fact , the american diabetes association cited a recently completed study on diabetes prevention that conclusively showed that people with prediabetes can prevent the development of type 2 , or full-blown , diabetes by making changes in their diet and increasing their level of physical activity . 
our approach provides affordable access to this kind of preventive care , allowing people to lead healthier lives and not go to the emergency room , which is driving up costs for all of us . 
some of our elitist opponents will call these policies worthless because they do not offer 30 or more state mandates . 
for a single mother who is a waitress who is able to take her son to the doctor , that is not a worthless policy . 
that is called progress . 
if the plans are so inadequate , do n't worry , the people wo n't buy them . 
most professional men and women have health insurance . 
members of congress have a great health insurance plan . 
members of labor unions have health insurance . 
why do they not want the mechanics and the barbers and the waitresses and the realtors to have health insurance ? 
the attitude of our opponents seems to be , `` i drive a cadillac . 
if you ca n't afford to drive a cadillac , you do n't get to drive at all. '' that does not make sense . 
today 45 million americans can not afford a cadillac health insurance policy with all the mandated benefits . 
however , they might be able to afford a more modest vehicle that would get them to their doctor 's office where they could at least get a diagnosis , advice and recommendations in order to improve their quality of life . 
a broad and diverse coalition of more than 180 groups support this bill , including the u.s. chamber of commerce , the national federation of independent business , the american farm bureau , the associated builders and contractors , the latino coalition , and the national black chamber of commerce . 
people want health insurance . 
opponents of ahps say , `` if you ca n't do everything for everyone , do nothing. '' we say this bill will help some people get health insurance , and we think that is a good thing . 
please , support ahps . 
let us quit talking about health insurance and actually deliver it to the american people who work in small businesses and who are self-employed , because they really need it . 
