[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 47 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E524]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HEALTH COVERAGE AVAILABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                               speech of

                             HON. JIM KOLBE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 28, 1996

  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I have heard from a number of my constituents 
from Tucson, some healthy, some with diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or 
asthma, and many who have a child that has health problems. It is for 
these people that we will vote on reform of the health insurance 
market.
  Our current health insurance market provides too little protection 
for individuals and families with significant health problems and makes 
it to difficult for employers--particularly small employers--to obtain 
adequate health coverage for their employees.
  Mr. Speaker we need to ask ourselves what will the health Care 
Availability and Affordability Act do for the American people:
  The bill will allow workers to move from job to job.
  The bill will allow workers who lose their job to maintain their 
health care insurance, and
  The bill will allow workers to maintain their health care insurance 
if they move to a company that does not offer health care services.
  What will the Health Care Availability and Affordability Act do for 
business community:
  The bill will allow small business to join together under the 
auspices of ERISA to purchase insurance coverage or to cover their 
employees under self-insured multiple employer health plans.
  Mr. Speaker, it is obvious how this will help the American people. 
Smaller companies will have the opportunities to pool together to 
purchase health care insurance, therefore, increasing the access of 
health care services to small business employees while reducing the 
cost of insurance premiums. It put small and large business in the same 
playing field.
  Mr. Speaker, the Health Care Availability and Affordability Act, in 
addition to making health insurance more available and portable, 
addresses a even more pressing issue the affordability of health care 
services.
  The bill will raise the health insurance deductible percent age from 
30 to 50 percent for the self-employed.
  The bill will allow individuals to include long-term care services as 
part of their health care expenditures Federal income tax deduction, 
and most importantly the bill will allow individuals covered by a high 
deductible health insurance plan or their employer to make a tax 
deductible contribution to a medicare savings account.
  Mr. Speaker, the working families of this country have demanded 
changes to the health insurance market, and we have provided the 
mechanism, in the Health Care Availability and Affordability Act, that 
will give the American people what they need.
  Mr. Speaker I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``aye'' on the 
Health Care Availability and Affordability Act.

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