mr. speaker , today member after member has been talking about the 45 million americans who lack health insurance .  at the origin of our problem , we are the only major country where your health care coverage depends on who you work for .  but that is not to be debated today .  we are talking about the small businesses in new jersey and elsewhere around the country that face the high cost of health insurance .  we all hear about it from our small businesses and their employees .  unfortunately , what has been brought to the floor here is a bill that creates more problems than it solves .  the concept of companies working together to control costs has worked in some states , and it is certainly something i support .  however , i can not support allowing association health plans to achieve cost savings by offering inferior coverage .  allowing ahps to circumvent existing state laws , for example , with regard to mental health coverage or contraceptive equity or mammograms or prostate screening or countless other necessary benefits is not an acceptable means to cut premiums .  supporters of this legislation claim that millions of small businesses and their employees will be eligible for this new insurance option .  however , the congressional budget office estimates that only 600 , 000 of those eligible are currently uninsured , a small fraction of this huge population .  and h.r. 525 would allow ahps to offer artificially lower costs by offering cheaper premiums to lower-risk populations , a policy that will lead to older and sicker people paying higher premiums .  the cbo found that more than 20 million workers and their dependents would see their premiums increase due to ahps cherry-picking .  states require that qualified health plans cover certain basic items .  states say that anything that is worthy of the name health plan must cover certain things .  well , under this bill i could create a health plan that covers nothing but ingrown toenail surgery .  it would be the cheapest plan out there , but it would not help employees very much .  i urge my colleagues to vote against h.r. 525 and to support the andrews-kind substitute .  their legislation would address the real needs of small employers .  it would establish a small employer health benefits plan that would grant small business employees the same benefits as federal employees receive .  it provides prorated premium assistance for companies of varying sizes and employees of varying income .  it would be much preferable to h.r. 525 .  