Engineering Inc. - May/June 2005 - (Page 11)

gram. The Small Business Health Fairness Act would remedy this by Last year, SBA proposed to change the current engineering firm creating uniform regulations for all states and allow firms of all sizes size standard of $4 million or less in gross receipts to a new standard to be covered. of 50 employees or fewer and a cap of $7 million in annual gross Derrell E. Johnson, president of ACEC's Life/Health Insurance receipts. The agency withdrew the proposal, however, in the face of Trust, in testimony submitted to the Senate Small Business and strong opposition from ACEC and other industry organizations. Entrepreneurship Committee, also talked about the proliferation of ACEC objected because the employee-based standard was flawed, mandates and regulations in state health insurance markets. Johnson a n d maintaining two separate size tests employees and gross noted that the Small Business Health Fairness Act would make it receipts would be overly burdensome. easier for existing AHPs to continue offering affordable health insur- In its latest comments, the Council continued to recommend the ance products to their members, while at the same time increasing use of a gross receipts-based size standard, and that the current $4- competition in health insurance markets by enabling other associa- million threshold be updated annually to account for inflation. tions to create AHPs, driving down the cost of health insurance. ACEC also recommended that SBA consider options that would allow firms that have grown beyond the size standard to continue to WRDA on the Move qualify as small businesses for a limited time to help them adjust to competing against large businesses. After coming close to passing the Water Resources and Development The agency currently is evaluating comments, and is expected to Act WRDA last year, Congress is making a renewed effort to pass initiate nationwide meetings to discuss the issue further. the measure by the summer. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reported a $7-billion WRDA bill in April S. ACEC Testifies on Behalf of AHP Legislation 728 , and House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman John Duncan R-Tenn. is expected to introduce a com- Legislation to enhance the ability of ACEC and other associations to panion bill soon. offer affordable health insurance products has advanced in Congress WRDA authorizes funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in recent months. ACEC members made this issue a priority during flood control, navigation and environmen- their recent CCD visits to Capitol Hill. t a l restoration projects. The Senate bill In March, the House Education and the Workforce Committee includes significant funding for Louisiana approved AHP legislation, the Small Business Health Fairness Act Coastal restoration, as well as lock con- H.R. 525 . The measure is expected to go to the House floor by struction and ecosystem restoration proj- summer. ects on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Enhancing the availability of affordable health insurance for engi- rivers. These projects are critical to sustain- neering firms and other businesses also was the focus of hearings ing the nation's waterway transportation held in April by the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship system, which is in need of significant reha- C o m m i t t e e and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, bilitation and upgrade. Labor, and Pensions HELP . When S. 728 is taken up by the full Sen- Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. H.R. 525 and its Senate counterpart, S. 406, would create more ate, deliberations are expected on several R-Tenn. o p p o r t u n i t i e s for businesses to pool together across state lines environmental reform measures, including through association health plans AHP to purchase health insur- independent review of feasibility reports ance, or self-insure in the same manner as large employers and labor a n d revision of the Corps' planning unions. ACEC is one of the few associations that currently offer its process. ACEC will continue to stress the need to resolve the Corps' members the benefits of a nationwide AHP, which is known as the reform issues in a reasonable manner to provide the Corps and the ACEC Life/Health Insurance Trust. water resources industry with a stable regulatory structure. During their recent CCD visits to Capitol Hill, ACEC members told Congress of the benefits of AHPs, as well as how the Small Business Health Fairness Act would make it easier for ACEC's Trust to offer competitive health care products to engineering firms. ACEC's experience with its own AHP also has been showcased in recent weeks at congressional hearings on this issue. In testimony s u b m i t t e d for a House Small Business Committee hearing in March, ACEC President Dave Raymond said ACEC's AHP is a model of how associations can help deliver health benefits to profes- FOR MORE NEWS sionals employed in both small and large engineering firms at affordable rates. For weekly legislative news, He also said that conflicting state regulations and mandates visit ACEC's Last Word online resulted in higher administrative costs and prevented many members at www.acec.org. from accessing the association's low-cost, quality health care pro- M a y l June 2005 ENGINEERING INC. 1 1 http://www.acec.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - May/June 2005

Table of Contents
From ACEC To You
News & Notes
Market Watch
Legislative Action
Common Ground
An Offer They Can't Refuse
Better to Be Safe
COVER STORY: Engineering Excellence Awards
Business Insights
Members in the News
One on One

Engineering Inc. - May/June 2005