mr. speaker , i rise in support of h.r. 525 , the small business health fairness act .  this legislation would allow small businesses to pool their resources into what are known as association health plans , ahps , to purchase health insurance .  pooled alliances , including ahps , help control health care costs by permitting individuals to use their collective bargaining power to win cost concessions from insurance companies .  these alliances also achieve economies of scale for administrative functions -- substantially cutting overhead costs , which currently amount to between 30 and 40 cents of every premium dollar paid by small businesses to insurers .  purchasing alliances have been a popular response in many states to the problems many self-employed and small business owners have had securing affordable health insurance for themselves or their employees .  while i sensitive to the concerns many disease advocacy groups have about this legislation , the fact is this legislation provides the same exemption from state benefit mandates for small businesses already enjoyed by large employers .  the cost savings from avoiding benefit mandates has been estimated to be between 4 and 13 percent .  this could make a huge difference for small businesses looking to offer their employees health insurance .  because small businesses are extremely cost-sensitive , studies indicate that even a 5 percent reduction in costs will result in a 10 to 15-percent increase in small businesses offering health insurance .  the legislation also protects against these plans `` cherry-picking '' the healthiest employees by restricting the ability of self-insured health plans to be qualified as an ahp .  unless a self-insured plan is in existence before the date of enactment , it would be required to offer membership to a broad cross-section of trades or to employers representing at least one higher-risk occupation .  additionally , ahps must comply with the health insurance portability and accountability act , which prohibits group health plans from excluding high-risk individuals with high claims experience .  the bottom line is this legislation will help small businesses , which are the engine in our economy , provide health insurance to their employees .  i urge the passage of this bill .  