[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 58 (Thursday, May 5, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HEALTH INSURANCE CRISIS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 3, 2005

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge ``Cover the 
Uninsured Week.'' Many of us have heard from our constituents this 
week, asking that we make health insurance coverage a top priority in 
the 109th Congress. America's families are living in fear that someone 
they love might develop a health problem they can't afford. We must 
begin a meaningful dialogue about this problem that will continue until 
every American has access to quality, affordable health insurance.
  This national disgrace has reached crisis proportions. Forty-five 
million Americans--more than 8 million of whom are children, and more 
than 80 percent of whom live in working families--are one ambulance 
trip away from financial devastation.
  I was pleased to join Leader Pelosi and other Democrats in 
cosponsoring three bills introduced this week as part of the Democrats' 
plan to build on programs that already work. Together, the Family Care 
Act, the Medicare Early Access Act and the Small Business Health 
Insurance Promotion Act would cover over half of all uninsured 
Americans. I have also been proud to be a part of other initiatives, 
both nationally and in my home state of Rhode Island to preserve and 
expand existing health insurance programs for retirees, children with 
disabilities, and adults attempting to return to the workforce. These 
are all important aspects to addressing the health care crisis, and I 
am honored to be part of building momentum around a solution.
  Our small business owners know we are in a crisis. Rising health care 
costs are undermining their ability to purchase coverage for their 
employees. They are frustrated with the increasing burden of 
negotiating and administering health care plans, and they are taking on 
extra costs or passing them on to employees just to maintain level 
coverage. Without systemic change, these problems will continue to 
threaten the health security of all Americans.
  What frustrates me most about the health insurance crisis is what 
little attention it receives. But I believe that with the proper amount 
of consideration and planning, the health care system in America can be 
saved. An enormous amount of money circulates through our health care 
system--we spend $35 billion on uncompensated care for individuals who 
don't have health insurance, with federal, state and local governments 
covering as much as 85 percent. Wouldn't it be better for American 
families, and also more cost effective, to transfer a large share of 
these funds to a new program to subsidize the cost of covering the 
uninsured? We spend millions treating illnesses diagnosed at later 
stages, thus requiring more costly treatments, because we didn't offer 
people the screenings to catch these problems earlier. This is the 
least efficient way possible to treat people. While we may not be in 
the best of economic times, if we made this issue a priority and 
committed ourselves to spending our health care dollars more wisely, we 
could offer all Americans access to quality, affordable care.

  With these principles of efficiency and inclusion in mind, I have 
developed a model for universal health insurance. Introduced last year 
as the American Health Benefits Plan. This bill is modeled after the 
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program--which everyone in this 
chamber is familiar with, as it offers coverage to Members of Congress, 
their families and staffs.
  Under my proposal, private companies will compete to offer health 
insurance, attracting enrollees on the basis of benefits as well as 
efficiency, service, and lower premiums. The government should make a 
substantial contribution to every American's premium, and for those for 
whom paying a portion of the premium would be a hardship, the 
government should offer subsidies--as we currently do under Medicaid. 
Employers should continue to contribute to the health care system, and 
they can do so through a payroll tax, which would fund the government 
contribution--but the burden of negotiating and administering health 
care plans should be taken on by the government.
  A national template for this model already exists. FEHBP manages 
health insurance for more than 8 million federal employees, annuitants 
and dependents. This program is administered by the Office of Personnel 
Management, which assumes responsibility for approving or disapproving 
carriers, negotiating benefit and rate changes, and auditing carriers' 
operations under the law. With administrative costs of less than 1 
percent, OPM has managed to offer a wide variety of health care choices 
and protections to federal employees.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that the federal government should offer this 
kind of coverage and oversight to all Americans. I sincerely hope to 
continue this dialogue with my colleagues, beyond ``Cover the Uninsured 
Week,'' but this is an important place to start.

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