Currently, there are forty-four million Americans who do not have health care insurance. That means one in six people have no health insurance to protect them if they get sick. According to a recently released report by the Census Bureau, the number of uninsured has risen by over 1 million in the past 12 months and the number of uninsured is expected to rise by another 1 million each year if nothing is done. I have been working hard to ensure that the U.S. health care system is more accessible, affordable, and accountable. The key issue of our debate in Congress centers around how we can increase access to health care and decrease the number of uninsured, while at the same time, maintain quality without raising costs significantly.

 This week in the U.S. House of Representatives considered several measures addressing the quality of care provided by managed health care plans.  No one can deny that patients should have more freedom in choosing their health care options.  However, with the continuing rise in the number of uninsured, I believe it is important to take a balanced approach in ensuring that health insurance will be available to every American.  I supported legislation which requires managed health care plans to have a binding internal and external appeals process.  This means HMO’s must be more responsible to patient coverage concerns. I believe we must ensure that patients receive the care they need, when they need it.
 
 While understanding the importance of keeping health plans accountable, Congress should be not preoccupied with keeping trial lawyers fully employed.  Out of three measures considered by the House to reform managed care, I supported moderate legislation which would have provided employees with reasonable legal recourse in the case of wrongful denial of benefits.  Unfortunately, this measure did not pass and a more extensive measure, known as the Norwood/Dingell bill did.  I am concerned that Norwood/Dingell will not prevent frivolous lawsuits and could possibly hold employers liable for merely providing health care coverage or for the plan they select.  We should not discourage businesses from providing health insurance voluntarily by the threat of future liability for unlimited damages. I believe in the end more workers will be left uninsured if insurance costs are driven up by needless liability suits.

 To encourage the access of health insurance, the House passed and I supported H.R. 2990, The Quality Care for the Uninsured Act for 1999, commonly called the Republican Access bill. This legislation contains several provisions to help reduce the number of uninsured and keep coverage costs under control. One major provision of the bill allows a 100% tax deductibility for people who are self-employed. This is only fair to allow individuals the same tax benefits that are currently only provided for large businesses. For those who are not self-employed, it also provides 100% tax deductibility for health insurance and long-term care premiums, if the taxpayer does not pay more than 50% of those premiums. The bill also establishes a process for certifying association health plans (AHPs), which allow national trade and professional associations to sponsor health plans, enjoy large economies of scale, and save small businesses 10-20% on health care costs.

 The bill helps increase access to health care through the expansion of medical savings accounts (MSAs). MSAs are special personal savings accounts for medical purposes. The bill eliminates the current arbitrary cap of 750,000 people that may benefit annually from MSA contributions. The advantage of an MSA is that it allows you to deduct health care expenses from your taxes. The Republican Access bill also creates HealthMarts, which are basically co-ops for firms, health plans and providers in a local geographic area. HealthMarts, in essence, create health insurance “surpermarkets” in an attempt to give employees more options in choosing their coverage and allows employees of small businesses to choose from a variety of health plans.

 The market-oriented proposals that are included in the Quality Care for the Uninsured Act of 1999 give the power back to the American taxpayer to make his/her own health care choices, instead of having to live with a government-run health plan that leaves little room for flexibility and innovation. Our Access bill combines free market reforms with the health care tax provisions included in the Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act that was vetoed by President Clinton. Our goal is to help the 44 million people in this country who are uninsured. By establishing tax advantages for individuals and businesses to purchase health insurance coverage, we have taken the first step to help all Americans. Providing the uninsured with access to health care is the best patient protection one can receive.