The Congressional Budget Office says the Patient's Bill of Rights legislation sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy would increase the cost of the average health care premium by 6 percent. The premium cost estimate is 50 percent higher than it was nine months ago.

If the CBO estimate went up by 50 percent after just nine months, in the real world, how much will this premium go up when this bill is actually enacted, says Dan Danner, NFIB's vice president of Federal Public Policy.

Small business owners cite the high cost of health care as the number one problem for their business. Kennedy's legislation would increase costs by slapping new mandates on health plans and exposing small business owners to greater liability from lawsuits.

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