Small Business Empowerment Act
Latest action · Apr 30, 2008 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 30, 2008
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Small Business Empowerment Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a national program to make quality, affordable health insurance available to small employers and self-employed individuals in a manner that will spread risk on a national basis, modeled on the federal employees health benefit program.
Requires the Secretary to enter into a contract with an eligible entity for administration of the program. Authorizes such administrator to provide health insurance coverage to employees of participating employers and individuals. Directs such administrator to: (1) establish a pilot program to provide for the offering by carriers of a model health benefits plan; and (2) contract with the Institute of Medicine to assess the impact of the program on health care coverage costs and access.
Sets minimum standards for program health benefits plans. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations providing for employer participation.
Establishes the National Health Coverage Commission. Includes among Commission duties: (1) developing a model that ensures adequate coverage for medically necessary services, promotes disease and chronic disease management, and provides incentives for health provider compliance with best practices protocols; and (2) developing model cost sharing mechanisms that do not discriminate and that accommodate lower income individuals.
Directs the Secretary and the program administrator to implement an educational campaign concerning the program.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to provide reinsurance to qualified carriers offering plans under this Act; (2) make specified large claim payments (from the Small Business Health Coverage Trust Fund established by this Act) and annual payments to such carriers; and (3) require the payment of monthly assessments by each issuer offering health insurance coverage.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Apr 30, 2008 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 30, 2008Introduced in Senate
- Apr 30, 2008Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3599)
- Apr 30, 2008Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3653 | Sherrod Brown D-OH | May 1, 2008 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3599 | Sherrod Brown D-OH | Apr 30, 2008 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide quality, affordable health insurance for small employers and individuals.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Small Business Empowerment Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Access to health care
- Administrative procedure
- Chronically ill
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Commerce
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Discrimination in medical care
- Diseases
- Economics and Public Finance
- Employee health benefits
- Executive reorganization
- Federal employees
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Government employees' health insurance
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government publicity
- Government trust funds
- Health
- Health insurance
- Insurance companies
- Insurance premiums
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Medically uninsured
- Presidential appointments
- Reinsurance
- Self-employed
- Small business
- Standards
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 30, 2008Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
