mr. speaker , 45 million americans lack health insurance today , and the number is rapidly growing .  twenty-six percent of all adults in louisiana lack health insurance , and 22.6 percent of all working adults in louisiana lack insurance .  it has been said over here that we need the insurance mandates to protect the patient .  insurance mandates are meaningless without insurance .  we need a free market health care system that allows doctors to make decisions and not insurance companies .  fifty-two percent of louisiana 's small businesses offer health insurance , and the number is constantly declining .  we must act to ensure that americans can afford the health insurance that they need , and we can do so by passing h.r. 525 , the small business health fairness act .  this bill will create association health plans that will allow small businesses to band together through bona fide trade associations to become larger purchasers of health insurance , thus giving small businesses the same benefits that fortune 500 companies now enjoy .  the congressional budget office has estimated that small businesses obtaining insurance through ahps would average premium reductions of 13 percent and some as high as 25 percent reductions .  overhead costs alone would decrease by as much as 30 percent under these plans .  what is wrong with this ?  this is offering affordable coverage to workers .  there is additional research that also shows that up to 8.5 million americans who are currently uninsured would become insured under ahps .  and this bill offers very many protections , consumers protections and protections with regard to solvency , as outlined .  if we are going to lower costs and increase accessibility to health care , we need to create choices and enhance competition .  this bill is an important first step , and i urge its passage .  