July 23, 2008
Contact: Mike Donohue (202) 331-5902, Maureen Ryan (202) 331-5939

(Washington, DC) - The National Restaurant Association announced its support of the introduction of bipartisan health-care legislation in the Congress by U.S. House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-Penn.). The bill, the Small Business "Cooperative for Healthcare Options to Improve Coverage for Employees" (CHOICE) Act of 2008, would alleviate the volatility of insurance premiums for small businesses and make coverage more affordable for owners and their employees. The bill also creates important tax relief for entrepreneurs to help provide the families of their workers with expanded coverage.

"The restaurant industry applauds the health-care bill introduced today by Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez and Representative Joseph Pitts and commends them for their bipartisan leadership and commitment to providing small businesses access to affordable health-care options," said John Gay, senior vice president of government affairs and public policy for the National Restaurant Association. "With 13.1 million employees, restaurants are the nation's second largest private-sector employer, and health-care costs are a tremendous weight on the future viability of the industry. If passed into law, this legislation will directly help restaurateurs and their employees afford health insurance.

"The restaurant industry is essential to the nation's health-care debate, and the National Restaurant Association is a leading voice for making health care more affordable. Finding ways to provide meaningful health care for restaurant employees is vital to our industry's future, and access to affordable health-care coverage is one of our members' top concerns," continued Gay. "The Small Business CHOICE Act will help provide real relief for restaurants, and we urge support for the bill."

The CHOICE Act would help eliminate premium volatility and lower the cost of health insurance premiums for small businesses, which represent more than 99 percent of all employers, by permitting the formation of small-business cooperatives for the purpose of insuring against the risk of high costs or catastrophic claims. Small businesses would be encouraged to participate in the cooperative through a 65 percent tax subsidy. The legislation would also strengthen the private insurance market, give employers more flexibility in plan design and encourage the formation of small-business purchasing groups, longstanding goals of the industry.