The regional administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration is hosting a roundtable discussion on health care costs today (Thursday) for small business owners in northwest Iowa. Sam Jones says Iowa Congressman Steve King will also sit in on the Sioux City event which is designed to give small business owners direct access to federal officials on this important subject.Jones says they’ll discuss health care issues and how tools such as Health Savings Accounts, or H-S-As, and Association Health Plans, A-H-Ps, can help small companies provide affordable health insurance for their employees. He says small business owners frequently list rising health care costs as one of their most pressing concerns. Jones says H-S-As and A-H-Ps offer new avenues for providing health care without going bust.H-S-As are portable, tax-free savings accounts that can be used for routine medical expenses. A-H-Ps, which are not yet law, would allow small businesses to band together across state lines to purchase health coverage. The plan has passed the U.S. House and is pending in the Senate. Jones talked last week with a regional small business owner who said trying to meet health care costs is his biggest challenge.Today’s roundtable talk is scheduled to run from 10 to 11:30 A.M. at the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce in Sioux City.
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