Newly elected Republicans Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) and Bobby Jindal (R-La.) said they hope to contribute to a bipartisan congressional effort to help small businesses provide health insurance for their workers, NPR's "Morning Edition" reports.

According to Bean, there is "a lot of opportunity for common ground" on legislation that would help create affordable health care options for small business workers. Bean said she would support such legislation, adding that incorporating "younger, healthier" uninsured U.S. workers into health insurance purchasing pools would decrease risk and cost and provide greater access to care "more economically."

Jindal said the "people elected us ... to take care of their health care issues ... (not to) have partisan fights," and helping small businesses afford health care is "just good common sense," rather than a Republican or Democratic idea.

In addition, Jindal said that there is opportunity to simplify the U.S. tax code so self-employed and small business workers could purchase health and long-term care insurance (Montagne, "Morning Edition," NPR, 11/12).