[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 107 (Tuesday, September 5, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S8974]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS--AUGUST 3, 2006

      By Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, and Ms. Murkowski):
  S. 3813. A bill to permit individuals who are employees of a grantee 
that is receiving funds under section 330 of the Public Health Service 
Act to enroll in health insurance coverage provided under the Federal 
Employees Health Benefits Program; to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be an original coauthor 
of the Community Health Center Employee Health Coverage Act of 2006 
with Senators Smith and Murkowski. I ask for unanimous consent that a 
fact sheet with respect to the legislation be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                               Fact Sheet

       Problem: Like many small businesses, health centers have 
     seen their health insurance premiums sky-rocket. Although 
     they delivered comprehensive primary and preventive care to 
     more than 15 million people in 2004, more than 6 million of 
     whom had no health insurance coverage, these rising costs 
     will have detrimental impacts on health centers as they are 
     forced to channel federal grant dollars (which are intended 
     for the uninsured and underinsured) to pay for the increasing 
     insurance expenditures. If this continues, health centers may 
     eventually be forced to either reduce the coverage of their 
     own employees or reduce the availability of health care in 
     their already underserved communities.
       Fortunately, employees of health centers are generally 
     healthy individuals and largely do not have chronic diseases 
     or high medical bills. The irony here is that at the same 
     time that health center employees are providing quality care 
     to the uninsured and very poor, they are often unable to 
     afford health insurance themselves. Furthermore, health 
     centers have cited affordable health care as a key concern in 
     recruiting and retaining quality employees and clinical 
     staff.
       Solution: This bipartisan legislation, introduced by 
     Senators Smith, Bingaman, and Murkowski, would reduce health 
     centers' rising health insurance costs and also improve 
     coverage in many cases and therefore save taxpayer grant 
     money that would otherwise be used to pay health insurance 
     premiums. The bill would enable health centers to use scarce 
     funds to continue providing care in their communities. In 
     addition, extending coverage under FEHBP to health centers 
     would allow health centers to continue to offer health 
     insurance to their employees so they too don't join the ranks 
     of the uninsured.
       This bill would not set a precedent. The law currently 
     provides for Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) 
     coverage for other individuals who are not federal employees 
     but do receive federal grant funds for their operations, such 
     as Gallaudet University or USDA grant recipients comprised of 
     local farmers. Currently FEHBP covers over nine million 
     federal employees, while Heath Centers employ nearly 100,000 
     people across the country.
       This would be a logical extension of the health centers' 
     Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) legislation, where health 
     center staffers are deemed as federal employees for medical 
     malpractice coverage purposes. This bill would extend the 
     same mechanism for health insurance purposes.
       Benefit: This bill will aid in the continuation of 
     providing quality health care to those who need it most. It 
     would also provide relief to community health centers in the 
     form of lower premiums and better coverage for their 
     employees by deeming them as federal employees for purposes 
     of the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). There 
     should be no federal cost for this bill as health centers 
     will pay the health care premiums for their employees but at 
     a less expensive cost.

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