Employer-Based System Responsible For Decline In Uninsured

Sep 29, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Richard Coorsh

September 29, 2000

(202) 824-1787

e-mail: rcoorsh@hiaa.org

The following statement was released today by Chip Kahn, President of the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA):

There are two major "take-aways" from the latest numbers showing a decline in the number of uninsured Americans between 1998 and 1999.

First and foremost is that the private, voluntary employer-based system works, and works well for most people. From 1998 to 1999, the number of Americans who received employer-based coverage increased by about two million people – an increase of almost a full percentage point. The increase in the number of people with employer-sponsored health coverage accounts for the total decline in the number of uninsured Americans between 1998 and 1999.

The second "take-away" is that we are far from turning the corner on this most crucial of national priorities. Tens of millions of Americans still lack health insurance. The enormity of this problem will not change without action by the Congress to provide funding for Americans who lack the wherewithal to purchase health insurance.

HIAA’s InsureUSA proposal (http://www.insureusa.org/) offers doable recommendations that would provide coverage for most of the nation’s uninsured –including tax relief, and building on current public programs for the indigent. Also, we must avoid legislative pitfalls – such as so-called "patient protection" legislation – that would increase costs, and increase the number of uninsured Americans.

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