mr. speaker , this so-called small business health fairness act is a bill that is attractive to a few , seems to be sufficient for none , and is going to be harmful for many .  the congressional budget office did an estimate of the proposed bill .  it estimated that only 600 , 000 of the 45 million uninsured will be provided new insurance coverage by these ahps .  in fact , the respected 2003 mercer consultant study that was done for the national small business association found that the number of uninsured will increase by 1 million , as increased nonassociated market costs force small employers to drop coverage .  the fact of the matter is there is not going to be the dramatic savings proposed here .  that is not going to materialize .  the congressional budget office found that these premiums for ahps would only be marginally less than traditional premiums for health care plans .  in fact , the 2003 mercer study found that premiums would increase by 23 percent for those outside the ahp market .  it also found that there would be an increase in the number of uninsured workers in small firms , an increase of 1 million people as a result of this plan being implemented .  again , the fact of the matter is that americans would also lose their right to vital medical coverage , like ob-gyn and pediatrician services , cervical , colon , mammography and prostate cancer screening , maternity benefits , well-care child services , and diabetes treatment .  mr. speaker , this bill is going to disallow a lot of state protections .  in fact , that is how you get cheaper insurance .  if you want to lower the price , you just do not give people the coverage that they need and deserve .  almost all of the states that we talk about have protections for people with coverage .  almost every member of this house voted for the federal patient bill of rights that would have recognized these state protections that are in place for insurance programs ; yet this bill would take those out carte blanche .  as a person in small business for over 22 years , and having represented a lot of small businesses , i can tell you from personal experience that small business employers do not want inferior coverage for their employees .  we can not allow it to happen again here .  in fact , mr. speaker , i can tell you that ahps really already exist .  they are called the multiple employer welfare arrangements , the mewas .  the public record is filled with stories of failed mewas that left employers and employees alike with unpaid medical bills .  from 1988 to 1991 , dozens of mewas failed , leaving 400 , 000 individuals with over $ 123 million of unpaid medical claims .  small business owners and their families and their employees deserve protections .  they deserve to go to the emergency room .  women in small businesses deserve to go to gynecologists without referral from another doctor .  why should we treat small business owners and employees as second-class citizens and give them second-class health care ?  instead of extending the patient protections to all americans , this ahp bill would actually roll them back and roll back the limited protections that they get today .  plainly speaking , mr. speaker , this bill eliminates all those protections .  for this reason and for the other reasons i have mentioned , and the fact that over 1 , 000 different organizations oppose this bill , the national governors association , the republican governors association , 41 state attorneys general , the national small business administration , the national association of insurance commissioners , as well as a dozen other labor , business and consumer groups think that this is not a good bill , i urge my colleagues to reject this bill and vote for the substitute .  