Council on Small Business and Corporate Leadership Advisory Council member Ray Pinard is presenting testimony today before Congress, on behalf of the U.S. Chamber, regarding "Treatments for an Ailing Economy: Protecting Health Care Coverage and Investing in Biomedical Research." From the written testimony:

I commend the Committee for its interest in holding this hearing on reviving our economy and for acknowledging the challenges facing small and mid-size businesses in the United States.
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I understand that Congress is again facing very difficult decisions on what items to include in a possible second stimulus package in order to revive our sluggish economy. I am here to tell you today that the best way to protect health care benefits and reduce health care costs incurred by states is to provide incentives for the private sector to create jobs.  Creating private sector jobs is a win-win scenario for everyone – the employer, the employee and the government. 

I am also aware that some of the proposals you are entertaining are helping states with their Medicaid obligations or providing additional funding to NIH for research. While these are interesting proposals, as an employer I feel that you will get more bang-for-the-buck by considering a second round of tax incentives crafted for small businesses to invest and expand instead. This would further encourage employers to do what we do best—grow our businesses and create jobs. In addition, if Congress could couple this with some common sense health care reforms, such as reducing insurance mandates and allowing for association health plans across state borders, not only would states have more money flowing into their coffers through increases in payroll rosters and the resulting revenues, but by making it easier for employers to provide health care benefits, they will also experience less need for Medicaid funding by reducing the uninsured rosters. 

One of the most basic elements to fostering economic prosperity is creating a private sector job, and there is nothing more rewarding for an employer than to be able to afford to accompany that job with a private sector health care benefit.