123STA T . 1 06PUBLIC LA W 111 – 3 —FE B. 4, 200 9(5)Therapidg r owt hi n hea l th in su ran c e costs o v er the last f ew y ears has forced m any employers , particularly small employers, to increase deducti b les and co - pays or to drop cov- erage completely . (b) SENS E OFTH E SEN A TE. — The Senate— ( 1 ) recogni z es the necessity to improve affordability and access to health insurance for all A mericans
( 2 )ac k nowledges the value of building upon the e x isting private health insurance market; and ( 3 ) affirms its intent to enact legislation this year that, with appropriate protection for consumers, improves access to affordable and meaningful health insurance coverage for employees of small businesses and individuals by— (A) facilitating pooling mechanisms, including pooling across State lines, and ( B ) providing assistance to small businesses and individuals, including financial assistance and tax incen- tives, for the purchase of private insurance coverage. TI T LEV II —R EVE NU E P R O VI S IONS SEC.701 . IN C R E A SEINE X CISE T AX RATE O NTO B ACCO P RO DU CTS. (a) CIG A R S.—Section 5 70 1(a) of the I nternal R evenue Code of 1 986 is amended— (1) by striking ‘ ‘ $ 1.828 cents per thousand ($1.59 4 cents per thousand on cigars removed during 2000 or 2001) ’ ’ in para- graph (1) and inserting ‘‘$50.33 per thousand’’, (2) by striking ‘‘20.719 percent (18.063 percent on cigars removed during 2000 or 2001)’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘52.75 percent’’, and (3) by striking ‘‘$48.75 per thousand ($42.50 per thousand on cigars removed during 2000 or 2001)’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘40.26 cents per cigar’’. (b) CIGARETTES.—Section 5701(b) of such Code is amended— (1) by striking ‘‘$19.50 per thousand ($17 per thousand on cigarettes removed during 2000 or 2001)’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘$50.33 per thousand’’, and (2) by striking ‘‘$40.95 per thousand ($35.70 per thousand on cigarettes removed during 2000 or 2001)’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘$105.69 per thousand’’. (c) CIGARETTE P A P ERS.—Section 5701(c) of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘1.22 cents (1.06 cents on cigarette papers removed during 2000 or 2001)’’ and inserting ‘‘3.15 cents’’. (d) CIGARETTE T UB ES.—Section 5701(d) of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘2.44 cents (2.13 cents on cigarette tubes removed during 2000 or 2001)’’ and inserting ‘‘6.30 cents’’. (e) S M O K E L ESS TOBA C CO.—Section 5701(e) of such Code is amended— (1) by striking ‘‘58.5 cents (51 cents on snuff removed during 2000 or 2001)’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘$1.51’’, and (2) by striking ‘‘19.5 cents (17 cents on chewing tobacco removed during 2000 or 2001)’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘50.33 cents’’. 26USC5701.
