Vote to adopt a substitute amendment that creates a Small Employer Health Benefits Plan, which would provide access to qualified national and State health pooling arrangements, assisting both employers and employees of small businesses with the costs of health coverage.

• Calls for the establishment of a qualified national health pooling arrangement, modeled after the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (Sec. 2).

• Limits coverage support to 10 years and requires the employer to pay 50 percent of the insurance premiums (Sec. 2).

• Provides employer premium assistance for those employers who wish to extend coverage to qualified employees under a qualified health pooling arrangement; the amount of assistance is based on the size of the employer (Sec. 2).

• Provides employee premium assistance to those employees whose annual family income is at or below 200 percent of the national poverty line (Sec. 2).

• Declares that while States are not required to establish or maintain qualified health pooling arrangements, grants will be made available to States that do so (Sec. 2).