[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TAX CREDITS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM WON'T WORK! CHECK OUT THE 
                     FACTS ON EHEALTHINSURANCE.COM

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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.

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