{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=629a1ef8-2845-41f3-b3cc-fad37a15f01b", "Heitkamp And 5 Other Senators Unveil Ideas To Make Health Care Reform Law Work Better", "2014-03-27", "2014", "2014-03", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today with five other Senators unveiled a series of commonsense proposals that take the next steps toward making the Affordable Care Act work better for individuals, families, and small businesses across North Dakota and the country.\r\nAlong with U.S. Senators Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Mark Begich (D-AK), Angus King (I-ME), and Joe Manchin (D-WV), Heitkamp offered pieces of legislation to address many of the concerns the Senators are hearing from people in their states, including the need to make coverage more accessible, affordable, and flexible.\r\nThe health care reform law isnt perfect. No law ever is. I have long said there are some good pieces of the law and some pieces that need to be fixed, said Heitkamp. Today, were announcing needed fixes to improve the parts of the law that could work better for families and businesses across North Dakota  as I pledged to do since before joining the Senate.\r\nAlready, the law is providing coverage for those with preexisting conditions, putting consumers before insurance companies, and ending lifetime and annual caps. But we can do more. I hope Democrats and Republicans will put politics aside, join us, and offer their ideas to find real solutions so every North Dakotan can get affordable, quality health coverage.\r\nThe bills would make changes to the law in three key areas by:\r\n \r\nGiving consumers more choices and making health coverage more affordable;\r\nImproving flexibility and offering relief for workers and small businesses; and\r\nMaking it easier to access quality health coverage.\r\n \r\nThe Senators authored an op-ed in Politico laying out their latest ideas. Click here to read the op-ed.\r\nGiving Consumers More Choices and Making Health Coverage More Affordable\r\n \r\nOffering a new, lower cost health insurance plan to give consumers more options.\r\n \r\nThe Expanded Consumer Choice Act provides a new lower cost, high-deductible option in the health insurance Marketplace called the Copper Plan -- in addition to the existing Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze options in the marketplace -- that would give consumers more control over their own coverage, spur competition, and, most importantly, increase affordability. Under the plan, consumers have the choice to pay lower premiums if they are willing to pay more for out-of-pocket medical costs.\r\n \r\nProviding more health care choices for consumers\r\n \r\nThe Increased Competition for Consumers Act restores startup funds for new consumer-driven health insurance cooperatives. This bill will allow families to have more options to access health coverage beyond traditional insurance companies, infusing state marketplaces with more competition to reduce average premiums.\r\n \r\nEncouraging safely selling insurance across state lines\r\n \r\nThis proposal increases consumer choice by directing state insurance regulators to develop models for states to sell health insurance across state lines. These multi-state models will help us discern the benefits and challenges of selling health insurance in this manner, and determine if it is a means to increasing choice and competition among plans  potentially driving down costs while maintaining quality and value.\r\nImproving Flexibility and Offering Relief for Workers and Small Businesses\r\n \r\nEasing the transition for small businesses.\r\n \r\nThe Small Business Stability Act, introduced by Heitkamp, expands the option for voluntary health coverage to employers with fewer than 100 employees, about 98 percent of all businesses. It is currently required that businesses with more than 50 employees must offer employees coverage. Requiring small businesses to provide health care to employees is asking them to become experts in a complicated issue that could put a huge burden on them. This bill aims to let small businesses make their own choices, while still making sure employees can shop for coverage on the individual Marketplace.\r\n \r\nImproving affordability and flexibility for small businesses.\r\n \r\nThe Small Business Tax Credits Accessibility Act improves flexibility, increases affordability, and eases the transition for small businesses by making small business health care tax credits available for a longer period of time and accessible to more employers. Small businesses would be able to spend less time and money worrying about how they will provide coverage for their employees. Expanding the current tax credits to include businesses with fewer than 50 employees  instead of the current cap at 25 employees  would provide a real benefit to hundreds of thousands of small businesses and allow them to offer quality care while recruiting and retaining talented employees.\r\n \r\nProviding commonsense reporting requirements.\r\n \r\nThis proposal reduces the administrative burden for businesses by further streamlining and simplifying reporting requirements for health insurance coverage.\r\n \r\nGiving flexibility for family members.\r\n \r\nThis proposal enables family members working for the same business to be counted as one full-time employee if they are on the same employer-sponsored health plan.\r\nMaking it Easier to Access Quality Health Coverage\r\n \r\nHelping individuals and families find alternative ways to directly sign up for health coverage.\r\n \r\nThis proposal provides a permanent path for consumers to seamlessly enroll for health coverage directly through insurers or certified web-based entities, in addition to enrolling through healthcare.gov, making it easier for individuals and families to access quality health insurance.\r\n \r\nProviding better access for independent agents and brokers to help consumers get coverage.\r\n \r\nThis proposal improves access for agents and brokers to help families and small businesses enroll in health plans on the Marketplace. Agents and brokers are trusted advisors for many families and businesses and should be able to help with these kinds of decisions.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=629a1ef8-2845-41f3-b3cc-fad37a15f01b"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.005441278219223, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}