Custom Health Option and Individual Care Expense Arrangement Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALBERG. Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 3799, the CHOICE Arrangement Act. I thank both the Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on Education and the Workforce for their hard work in bringing this important bill to the floor.

I must state that what I have heard over the last 20 minutes of sitting here and listening to my colleagues, it would lead me to believe that they think Republicans don't want good healthcare, that we don't need good healthcare, that we don't use good healthcare, and that we would support employers not giving us good healthcare or our constituents good healthcare, and that we would expect that Republican employers wouldn't feel the same impact of trying to compete with other employers whose benefits their employees look for.

That is just not true. I don't think the American public believes that. We have the same concerns. We want good healthcare. That is why this bill has been put forward.

With the ACA, true, everybody had insurance, but not everybody had healthcare when they tried to use it. The high cost of healthcare remains a struggle for small businesses, many of whom are facing lingering hardships from the pandemic as well as inflation.

In fact, a recent survey from the NFIB showed that while employers by and large believe offering health benefits is important, 98 percent of small businesses are concerned that healthcare costs will become unsustainable within the next 5 to 10 years.

The CHOICE Arrangement Act provides innovative healthcare solutions to bring down healthcare costs for small businesses.

I am proud that H.R. 3799 includes my legislation to expand association health plans. AHPs are commonsense solutions that empower small employers and their employees when making health coverage decisions.

Right now, small businesses are often on an unequal playing field with larger companies and unions. Because they have fewer employees, small businesses have limited bargaining power when it comes to negotiating for lower insurance costs for their workers and higher care coverage.

By providing small businesses with greater bargaining power, the Association Health Plans Act allows them to offer more quality options for workers at a better price.

Madam Chair, the Association Health Plans Act will level the playing field for small businesses and empower their employees to access quality healthcare at a lower cost. It also represents an important step toward purchasing health insurance across State lines.

Today's vote is an immediate first step to help job creators provide affordable healthcare options to their employees and transition toward a patient-centered healthcare system that works for Republicans and Democrats.

Madam Chair, I encourage support of H.R. 3799.

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