OCTOBER 25, 2000

Today, I am introducing the Basic Access to Secure Insurance Coverage Health Plan (BASIC) Act which builds on existing health insurance programs to provide all uninsured Americans, regardless of age or family status, the opportunity to get health insurance. The BASIC plan would create a universal guarantee for health insurance for all Americans.

While are experiencing unprecedented prosperity and a strong economy, yet there are still 43 million Americans who are uninsured. Being uninsured is not a "Washington problem." It is a human problem, as those 43 million people understand. In any given year, one-third of the uninsured go without needed medical care. Eight million uninsured Americans fail to take medication their doctors prescribe, because they cannot afford to fill the prescription. A new study published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms the serious health consequences of lacking insurance. Long-term and short-term uninsured adults were more likely than insured adults to face cost barriers to care and forgo needed care.

Lack of health insurance can have serious financial consequences as well. An uninsured family is exposed to financial disaster in the event of serious illness. Unpaid medical bills account for 200,000 bankruptcies annually. Over 9 million families spend more than one fifth of their total income on medical costs.

The BASIC Health Plan Act builds on two successful federal-state health insurance programs: Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The BASIC plan would extend these programs to all individuals and families with income up to 300% of the poverty level through a multi-year phase in. Other uninsured individuals may buy in to the program by paying the cost through premiums. Since nearly three-fourths of the uninsured have family incomes below 300 percent of the poverty level and this expansion is targeted at those who need it.

This bill also includes a number of provisions to ensure that families can easily access health insurance through the BASIC program. First, it simplifies and streamlines the application and enrollment process for these programs to make them seamless. Second, the bill would make it easier for states to identify and enroll families in coverage. Third, the bill improves upon the CHIP benefit package to guarantee all children receive adequate preventive services and treatment.

Additionally, since 82 percent of the uninsured are workers or dependents of workers, this bill seeks to use families’ connection to employment to facilitate access to health insurance coverage. Employers will not be required to provide coverage or contribute to the cost of coverage, although they may if they so wish. However, they will be required to facilitate access to the coverage by withholding any required premium contributions from the employee’s periodic pay, just like they do for taxes today.

I believe the BASIC Health Plan Act is an excellent starting point for providing health care coverage for every American. Over the past few years, Congress has lost focus on addressing this pressing issue. This time is upon us again to place health insurance at the forefront of our agenda.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and the Senate on the BASIC Health Plan Act to help provide health insurance coverage to many of the millions of Americans who are currently without health insurance.

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