[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 53 (Thursday, May 5, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have been wearing eye glasses now for 
about a year. I went to my ophthalmologist, a man I have known in Las 
Vegas for many years, to get my new glasses. As we were waiting for his 
staff to come, we were sitting in his office visiting, he said to me, 
``Harry, you have to do something about this health care situation.'' 
He said, ``I am a doctor. But I am also a small businessman.'' He said, 
``I have 27 employees. One of my employees recently got cancer. And I 
cannot get the policy rewritten. No one is willing to give me a policy. 
The company that I have will not rewrite it, and I am having great 
difficulty getting insurance for my 27 employees.''
  This, Mr. President, is a story that is told and retold throughout 
all of business in America. People who want to provide insurance for 
their employees cannot provide the insurance for their employees. 
People will not write it, or, if they do, it is too expensive.
  At a news conference this past Tuesday, the Small Business Coalition 
hosted a news conference to announce their support of the Clinton 
health care bill. This coalition represents 340,000 small businesses 
with more than 3.1 million employees. That is a lot of people. That is 
a lot of businesses.
  Clearly, small businesses are interested in health care reform. There 
is no group of individuals in America that should be more concerned 
about health care. Why? Because you see, Mr. President, small 
businesses pay an average of 35 percent more for the same coverage that 
big businesses have--for the same coverage. But in addition to paying 
35 percent more for the same coverage, their rates are skyrocketing. 
Premiums continue to increase at a rate 50 percent more than big 
business health insurance premiums.
  In Nevada, another constituent of mine, a woman by the name of Rose 
Dominguez runs a travel agency. It is a small one. But it is a good 
business. It is called Discovery Travel. This woman, trying to maintain 
a small business, trying to maintain happy employees, has had a very 
difficult time. She has had obstacle after obstacle thrown into her 
path trying to provide her employees with health care insurance. She 
has a healthy work force. Her premiums have increased at a rate of 30 
percent over the past 2 years. The only other option available to Rose 
Dominguez was a policy with such high deductibles that it created a 
great disincentive for her and her employees to want to participate.
  Most small businesses want to insure their employees. Added to the 
high premium burden, small businesses are faced with occupational 
redlining by insurance companies and preexisting-condition exclusions.
  A small nonprofit agency in Nevada was denied coverage for 
preexisting conditions of some of its employees. This agency is called 
the Nevada Association of Latin Americans. It has been in business in 
Nevada for at least 15 years--maybe longer than that, but 15 years that 
I know of. They have 23 employees. They are almost all low-wage 
employees, about $4.50 an hour, minimum wage. But the reason people are 
willing to work there and stay there for periods of time is because 
this little association supplied health insurance for its employees.
  You may ask why--why are they having trouble? Because two of NALA's 
employees were pregnant and one developed diabetes. They were denied 
insurance from an HMO insurance carrier. The insurance company sent 
them a letter stating:

       Unfortunately, we are not able to offer our services to 
     this group at the present time due to health conditions which 
     currently exist.

  Two pregnancies, and one diabetes are not unusual occurrences in the 
lives of employees.
  I ask unanimous consent, Mr. President, that this letter from the FHP 
Health Care Benefits Section to the Nevada Association of Latin 
Americans be made a part of the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                              FHP Health Care,

                                Las Vegas, NV, September 29, 1993.
     Re: Nevada Association of Latin Americans.
     Scott Carson,
     Southwest Benefits,
     Las Vegas, NV.
       Dear Scott: Thank you for considering FHP for your above 
     mentioned client. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer our 
     services to this group at the present time due to health 
     conditions which currently exist.
       If you have any questions regarding this matter, please 
     feel free to contact me.
       We at FHP appreciate your patronage, and strive to provide 
     you with Quality service.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Sally Neitz,
                                                Account Executive.

  Mr. REID. I also ask unanimous consent that another letter, directed 
to the First Lady, from the Nevada Association of Latin Americans be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                             Nevada Association of


                                        Latin Americans, Inc.,

                                   Las Vegas, NV, October 1, 1993.
     Hillary Rodham Clinton,
                            White House, Office of the First Lady,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear First Lady: Thank you for the enormous work you are 
     doing for the Health Care Reform. I know you received over 
     700,000 letters and my letter won't add anything new to the 
     fund of knowledge you already have.
       However, I want to share with you our experiences here with 
     Insurance companies. As you are testifying on Capitol Hill, 
     we are being rejected by an HMO Insurance Carrier because one 
     of our staff members has diabetes and two are pregnant. We 
     are a small non-profit, social service agency, with a staff 
     of twenty-three, which serves primarily the economically 
     disadvantaged Hispanics of Southern Nevada. Our agency has 
     been in existence for 25 years. The only benefit our staff 
     receives is Group Health Insurance. Most of our staff start 
     at $4.50 an hour. We are not insurable as a group because of 
     the pre-existing conditions of three staff members.
       Please do whatever is in your power to fight for us. We 
     need the SECURITY of Universal Coverage which the President 
     spoke about at the Joint Congressional Session. As far as we 
     are concerned, Health Care Reform is not a political issue--
     it is our life and the life of poor people we serve. Please 
     do not allow the Congress to delay the passage of the Health 
     Care Reform Bill. We cannot wait without health insurance.
       I wish you all the success in this endeavor.
           Sincerely,
                                      Avi L. Almeida, Ph.D., LASW,
                            President and Chief Executive Officer.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this letter is self-explanatory. It 
basically says: ``What are we to do? We cannot pay higher wages. Now we 
cannot supply insurance to our employees, and we are in big trouble.''
  Mr. President, all small businesses in America are in big trouble, 
and their employees are even in bigger trouble, because they have no 
health insurance.
  This small nonprofit company, acting in good faith, was denied health 
insurance coverage, as I indicated, one of the only benefits the agency 
could extend to its employees.
  Mr. President, the President's health care proposal will create an 
even playing field for businesses like my friend's, who owns the travel 
agency, and like my friend the ophthalmologist. And it is also 
important that nonprofit companies also be assured that they are 
included in the small business package, and that they, like the 
National Association of Latin Americans, can supply insurance to their 
employees. The Clinton plan will allow small businesses to pool 
together and have the same purchasing power that is afforded to big 
business today. It will eliminate insurance practices that discriminate 
against small businesses. It is discrimination when small businesses' 
prices are 35 percent more than big businesses', and the premiums are 
going up 50 percent more.
  We must be aware that small businesses cannot pay the skyrocketing 
premium increases, and they cannot have employees that are all injury 
free, disease free. We must have health insurance that allows people 
with preexisting conditions to have insurance. We cannot have 
occupational redlining, which is really what we have. The President's 
health care bill, the Health Security Act, will assist low-wage small 
businesses to purchase coverage with discounts.
  Mr. President, small businesses and their employees will be 
guaranteed a comprehensive set of benefits similar to those currently 
offered in Fortune 500 companies and will be afforded a wide choice of 
health care plans. The proposal will also help to reduce the incredible 
administrative burden faced by small businesses. Not only do we have 
small business insurance premiums that are an average of 35 percent 
higher than for big business, as indicated with Discovery Travel, but 
premiums are going up 50 percent higher.
  In addition, Mr. President, it is estimated that 40 cents of every 
dollar small business has spent on health care is eaten up in 
administrative costs. Clearly, the President's bill is, as the Wall 
Street Journal wrote: ``An unexpected windfall'' for small businesses.
  I hope my colleagues will join with me and others in continuing to 
push for strong health care reform. We must provide all Americans, 
especially small businesses, with guaranteed coverage and ensure that 
they have an even playing field, and that they can compete with big 
businesses. If we do nothing, health care spending is going to 
skyrocket. This year, Mr. President, health care costs will increase 
$100 billion. Next year the cost of health care in America will be a 
trillion dollars. If we continually do nothing, health care spending 
will reach $1.6 trillion in 5 years, by the year 2000. This is a gamble 
our country cannot afford to make. We must act now for positive change.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Alaska [Mr. Murkowski] is 
recognized for not to exceed 5 minutes.

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