TAX CREDITS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM WON'T WORK! CHECK OUT THE
FACTS ON EHEALTHINSURANCE.COM -- HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK (Extensions of Remarks
- December 15, 2000)
[Page: E2190]
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HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Friday, December 15, 2000
- Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, books, toys, flowers, clothes and insurance? Now
you can shop for just about anything on the web, including insurance. I
recently window-shopped for insurance using ehealthinsurance.com; the same
program Republican health care staffers received a briefing on last
week.
- My window-shopping included looking at available health insurance options
in Florida, Montana, Louisiana and Georgia through the eyes of people who were
25, 35, 45, 55 and 60, both married and single.
- The data reiterated our findings from March, which proved that in order to
help the uninsured we cannot simply give them refundable tax credits; the tax
credits have to be coupled with major insurance reform.
- Many people who are uninsured are working poor and may not qualify for
Medicaid; therefore if the tax credit does not cover almost the entire cost of
insurance they will still not be able to afford it.
- The results also proved that with age, tax credit becomes even more
useless because health insurance prices rapidly increase as one ages. For
example, a 25 year old low income couple in Billings, Montana could initially
get by with a $316.00 credit per month, but by the time the couple reached age
60 they would need $1,032.00 per month to sustain the same plan from the same
insurance company.
- Shopping on the web is like shopping at wholesale; it allows us to buy
books, clothes and the like at prices that most people can afford. The same
thing cannot be said about insurance: without insurance market reform, health
insurance will remain unaffordable for tens of millions.
- To view charts relating to this issue, please visit my website at
www.house.gov--stark.
END