Copyright 1999 Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
FEBRUARY 24, 1999, WEDNESDAY
SECTION: IN THE NEWS
LENGTH:
557 words
HEADLINE: PREPARED STATEMENT OF
HONORABLE
JOHN A. BOEHNER
CHAIRMAN
BEFORE THE HOUSE EDUCATION AND
THE WORKFORCE COMMITTEE
EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
SUBJECT
- "ERISA: A QUARTER CENTURY OF PROVIDING
WORKERS HEALTH INSURANCE"
BODY:
Today, as I chair my first hearing of the
Subcommittee on Employer- Employee Relations, we begin a look at the nation's
health care system - where it is working well and where it needs improvement. I
look forward to working with new Ranking Member Rob Andrews on this and other
issues of concern to American workers. Today's hearing focuses on the role of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA, in providing health care to
millions of the nation's workers. This hearing is designed to help educate the
members of the subcommittee as we begin the task of deciding where and how to
amend ERISA to improve health delivery to Americans. I anticipate additional
hearings in the coming months to examine such topics as how to achieve greater
health coverage for the uninsured and for employees of small business and how to
afford greater protection to workers whose coverage comes from managed care.
ERISA, and the preemption of state law that it affords, has played a key role in
providing health insurance to millions of Americans. Voluntary ERISA-based
employer selfinsured plans cover nearly 80% of all workers in the nation. ERISA
allows employers and employees to agree on a package of benefits without the
governmental regulation that has driven up the cost of health care. It is
primarily among the small businesses that cannot afford to take advantage of
ERISA (and self-insure) that the bulk of the over 40 million uninsured are
found.
I look forward to the witnesses' discussion of the role of ERISA in
providing health coverage to millions of workers. I hope that the witnesses will
also address the impact on the cost and availability of health insurance for
workers of some of the proposals to allow ERISA covered health plans (and
potentially employers) to be sued for damages.
We must all understand that
amendments to ERISA involve tradeoffs between cost and access. The greater the
regulation, the higher the cost of insurance and the greater the risk employers
will drop coverage for their workers. Thus, regulatory amendments must be made
with care.
This Committee and this Congress will move legislation early this
session that will address the call for managed care reform, by
providing greater "patient protections" such as: guaranteeing a patient's access
to unrestricted medical advice, ensuring access to emergency care by applying a
prudent layperson standard, providing direct access to OB/GYNs, providing direct
access to pediatricians, and requiting disclosure of plan information. I look
forward to being able to move legislation on these issues with the partnership
of Ranking Member Rob Andrews.
This Committee will build on and not tear
apart the framework which has led to successful cost-containment under
private-sector ERISA health plans. We must be responsive to serious shortcomings
in the health care system, but must also insist on workable solutions that do
not erode coverage or make costs unaffordable. We need to expand access to more
affordable health insurance and reduce the number of uninsured Americans. We
must also ensure that medical decisions are made in the examining room, not the
courtroom.
I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner to address these
issues, and look forward to hearing what these witnesses have to tell us to
guide us on that path.
END
LOAD-DATE: February
26, 1999 
