[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 72 (Friday, June 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1037]]



 H.R. 3998 OBEY/MATSUI AMERICAN HEALTH SECURITY PARTNERSHIP ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAVID R. OBEY

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 5, 1998

  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, last year, the Congress passed a proposal that 
was meant to take care of the health insurance needs of poor children. 
This year, the Congress is looking at ways to reform managed care so 
that the 85% of Americans in HMOs can be guaranteed quality health care 
based on need and not on profit margins. These are important steps but 
we need to, and we can go further.
  Good health is one of God's greatest blessings. Those of us who have 
it have an obligation to see that every American who doesn't can walk 
into a hospital or a doctor's office and get the health care they need 
without begging. Over forty-one million Americans are without health 
insurance, and that number is rising by about one million every year. 
Many more have insurance today but are afraid of losing it. There is no 
reason why we cannot figure out a way to assure that every American has 
and will be able to keep affordable health insurance coverage.
  That's why Congressman Bob Matsui of California and I are sponsoring 
the American Health Security Partnership Act which is based on the 
premise that if revenue is raised from tobacco companies, it ought to 
be used to help see to it that every person has secure health 
insurance.
  This legislation creates a cooperative cost sharing partnership 
between the federal government, state governments, employers and 
individuals. With each sharing in the cost and bearing a reasonable 
load, we can finally end the gap in health insurance coverage and put a 
stop to the cost shifting games that go on when the cost of providing 
care to the uninsured is shifted to those who do have insurance.
  In the best Wisconsin LaFollette Progressive Tradition we would use 
the states as laboratories of democracy to help find alternative health 
care reform models that work. States will have maximum flexibility to 
make choices on what devices to use, what systems to implement, and how 
best to use the federal funds for their citizens. But, the main federal 
requirement is that everyone in the state will have access to health 
insurance that is at least as good as what is available to Members of 
Congress under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP).
  Employers need to play a role too. That's why this legislation 
requires large employers to provide health insurance coverage for their 
workers and it provides funds that States can use to help small 
businesses expand health care coverage for their employees even though 
small business is not required to do so by this bill.
  But this is not a something for nothing approach. Individuals have a 
responsibility to get health insurance and to the extent possible, pay 
for some of the cost of that insurance. Cost shifting contributes 
greatly to the rising costs of health care and the only means of 
putting an end to it is to ensure that every individual has health 
insurance coverage.

  Many American families feel threatened by health care costs and many 
others are afraid of losing the health insurance coverage they have. 
The purpose of this bill is to strengthen the health care security of 
every American family. We do that by creating a 4 legged stool 
comprised of the federal government, the State government, employers 
and individuals.
  If there is going to be a tobacco settlement of any kind, the most 
logical use of that settlement is to make sure the average American 
family has health care coverage when they need it.
  Here are some of the elements of the plan.
  It establishes a federal and state partnership in which states have 
the flexibility to decide how everyone in the state is covered by 
health insurance. The rules would be set by the states and not the 
federal government.
  The only federal requirement is that health insurance coverage must 
be at least as good as what is currently available for Members of 
Congress and other federal employees under the Federal Employee Health 
Benefits Plan.
  Farmers and people who are self-employed will be able to deduct 100% 
of their health insurance costs.
  Workers who do not have employer subsidized health insurance will 
also be able to deduct 100% of their health insurance costs.
  Businesses with 100 or more employees will be required to offer 
health care coverage to employees and their families.
  It is paid for in two ways. A portion of the tobacco settlement would 
be used to establish a cost sharing agreement with the federal 
government and the states. That amount would be supplemented by a 1% 
increase on corporations with over $10 million in taxable income. Out 
of the one million corporations in the country, fewer than 3,000 pay 
income taxes at the top rate and would be affected by this increase.
  That cost is a small price to pay to meet the moral responsibility 
that any ethical society has to ensure that all Americans receive the 
health care they need simply because they are God's creatures.

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