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Small businesses are seeing huge rate increases every year, and more and more of them are saying they just can't afford to provide coverage. That's part of the reason more than 45 million Americans are now uninsured.

Like millions of other Americans, I receive health insurance through my employer.

I understand that in these difficult economic times, the potential for any additional expense is not welcomed by American businesses. But in the long run, the health insurance reform law promises to cut health-care costs for U.S. businesses, not expand them.

Small businesses pay 18 percent more than big businesses for health care, the same health care, just because they're small and they have too small a pool of risk.

Most Americans want health insurance.

That's what the Affordable Care Act is all about. It's about filling the gaps in employer-based care so that when we lose a job, or go back to school, or start that new business, we'll still have coverage.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans finally have the security that comes from quality, affordable health coverage. And, millions more have better, more reliable coverage than ever before.

Unfortunately, the health care bill commonly referred to as ObamaCare is making it more difficult for employers to provide insurance to their employees. It limits individuals' ability to pick their own doctors and, over time, decreases the quality of care we provide in this country.

Higher costs naturally translate into fewer employers offering insurance coverage, and fewer employees accepting it, even when it is offered.

When I came to Congress, like our first panel, small business people, 64 percent of the people had health insurance. We'd buy it. Now, we're down to about 34 percent. That's why we have to do something on health care in this country because the cost is killing us.