March 31 @ 7 p.m. EST: HHS, SBA Leaders to Hold Live Q&A Webcast About Health Insurance Reform's Impact on Small Businesses

To help everyone better understand implementation of the new health reform law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] is holding a live, online Q&A session tomorrow evening, Wednesday, March 31, from 7-7:30 p.m. EST at www.hhs.gov/live. The event features HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius [pictured] and U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA] Administrator Karen Mills clarifying the new health insurance reform law's impact on small businesses.

"A lot of people have questions about this comprehensive and complicated legislation," Sebelius wrote in her announcement of the Web Chats. "This will be the first in a series of weekly webcasts and discussions we here at the Department of Health and Human Services will hold with you, the American people, as we work to implement this new law and ensure health security for Americans who have, until the passage of this bill, been paying more and more for health care and getting less and less in return."

To participate in tomorrow's event, e-mail your questions in advance to HealthReform@hhs.gov. Sebelius and Mills will try to get to as many of them as they can during the Web Chat, then answer more via the HealthReform.gov site afterwards.

"Already, I’ve received countless questions from small-business owners about the new law and its benefits," said SBA's Mills. "In fact, this new law offers many tools to help small-business owners access more affordable health insurance options for their employees. These tools include the creation of 50 state exchanges that will allow small-business owners to access affordable health insurance plans for their employees, as well as new tax credits to help pay for this coverage."

"As the President told me recently, we have a solemn responsibility to make sure health reform is implemented carefully and effectively," Sebelius noted. "And we have an equal responsibility to make sure Americans know what changes are coming and how to take advantage of these new benefits...

"Our health insurance system wasn’t broken in a day. And it won’t be fixed in a day either. It’s going to take a lot of work. But the good news is that, after decades of talking about the need for these changes, that work is finally beginning and we want you to be a part of our efforts."

"I know you want to know what’s in health insurance reform for your small business and your employees," Mills added. "I hope you’ll join Secretary Sebelius and me at http://www.healthreform.gov/ tomorrow night, at 7 p.m. EDT to find out what’s in it for you."

To learn more about the key provisions of health reform that immediately take effect, go to: http://bit.ly/KeyProvisions.

SOURCES: HealthReform.gov [photo], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Small Business Administration, White House
____________________

HostGator.com: Earth-Friendly Web Hosting Made EASY and AFFORDABLE.

Kerry Praises Business Survey Funding

Today, Sen. John Kerry [D-Mass.] praised passage of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 2008 [H.R. 3093], with full funding provided for the Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons [SBO]. The survey provides data on businesses owned by veterans, minorities and women. However, in July, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would eliminate this survey by cutting Census funding by $10 million dollars.

“This survey offers the only comprehensive, regularly collected information about our country’s businesses and provides the foundation for good policy decisions affecting America’s 27 million small-business owners,” said Kerry, chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “Small businesses drive our economy forward. Without accurate data, Washington risks leaving behind our veteran, minority and women entrepreneurs, who represent the largest sectors of growth in our economy.”

The Survey of Business Owners is part of the Economic Census, which is conducted every five years. The survey describes the characteristics of U.S. businesses by ownership category, geographic area, industry sector, and by size of firm [employment and receipts]. Other survey data identify family- and home-based businesses, types of customers and workers, sources and purposes of financing, plus owner's age, education level, veteran status, and primary function[s] in the business.

Sources: Library of Congress, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
____________________

Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard: Pre-order today and get free delivery on October 26, 2007. Only from the online Apple Store!