[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 1 (Thursday, January 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S166-S167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INHOFE (for himself and Mr. DeMint):
  S. 173. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
establish Medicare Health Savings Accounts; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I introduce a bill to establish Medicare 
Health Savings Account, HSAs. This bill will make HSAs available under 
Medicare in lieu of Medicare Medical Savings Account, MSAs. I have long 
been dedicated to quality health care and believe that seniors should 
have the ability to make their own decisions regarding their health 
care, so they can receive the health care they need and deserve. As a 
senior myself, I appreciate how imperative it is that we seniors be 
provided with a wide array of choices.
  My desire to see my fellow Oklahomans and all Americans receive the 
best possible health care is evidenced by my involvement in various 
health-related issues. I have always been a champion of rural health 
care providers. In 1997, I was one of the few Republicans to vote 
against the Balanced Budget Act because of its lack of support for 
rural hospitals. At that time, I made a commitment to not allow our 
rural hospitals to be closed and am pleased we finally addressed that 
important issue in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 by providing 
great benefits for rural health care providers as well as a voluntary 
prescription drug benefit to seniors. In 2003, I also co-sponsored the 
Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act, to protect and preserve access 
of Medicare beneficiaries to health care in rural regions.
  In order to assist my State and other States suffering from large 
reduction in their Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, FMAP for 
Medicaid, I introduced a bill in the 109th Congress to apply a State's 
FMAP from fiscal year 2005 to fiscal years 2006 through 2014. The 
purpose of this legislation is to prevent drastic reductions in FMAP 
while revision of the formula itself is considered.
  I am a strong advocate of medical liability reform and have 
consistently been an original cosponsor of the Medical Care Access 
Protection Act and the Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to 
Care Act. These bills protect patients' access to quality and 
affordable health care by reducing the effects of excessive liability 
costs. I am committed to this vital reform that would alleviate the 
burden placed on physicians and patients by excessive medical 
malpractice lawsuits.
  I have also worked with officials from the Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services, CMS to expand access to life-saving Implantable 
Cardiac Defibrillators and many other numerous regulations that would 
affect my rural State such as the 250 yard-rule for Critical Access 
Hospitals.
  As a supporter of safety and medical research, I have co-sponsored 
legislation to increase the supply of pancreatic islet cells for 
research and a bill to take the abortion pill RU-486 off the market in 
the United States.
  In response to the shortages of flu vaccines experienced in years 
past, I introduced the Flu Vaccine Incentive Act to help prevent any 
future shortages in flu vaccines in both the 108th and 109th 
Congresses. My bill removed suffocating price controls from government 
purchasing of the flu vaccine while encouraging more companies to enter 
the market. Also, my bill freed American companies to enter the flu 
vaccine industry by giving them an investment tax credit towards the 
construction of flu vaccine production facilities.
  As a result of my sister's death from cancer and a treatment we 
learned about not accessible in the United States that might have saved 
her life, Senator Sam Brownback and I introduced the Access, 
Compassion, Care and Ethics for Seriously-ill Patients Act, ACCESS, in 
the 109th Congress. This bill offered a three-tiered approval system 
for treatments showing efficacy during clinical trials, for use by the 
seriously ill patient population. Seriously ill patients, who have 
exhausted all alternatives and are seeking new treatment options, would 
be offered access to these treatments with the consent of their 
physician. I was pleased to learn that the Food and Drug Administration 
has announced a proposal to offer expanded access to drugs to 
terminally ill patients.
  My resolution to designate April 8, 2006, as ``National Cushing's 
Syndrome Awareness Day'' was passed by unanimous consent in the 109th 
Congress. The intent of this resolution is to raise awareness of 
Cushing's Syndrome, a debilitating disorder that affects an estimated 
10 to 15 people per million. It is an endocrine or hormonal disorder 
caused by prolonged exposure of the body's tissue to high levels of the 
hormone cortisol.
  It was brought to my attention thanks to a staffer with Celiac 
Disease and an Oklahoma Celiac Support Group that there is a great need 
to raise awareness of celiac disease; therefore, I worked to get my 
resolution passed by unanimous consent to designate September 13, 2006 
as National Celiac Disease Awareness Day. Celiac disease is an 
autoimmune disorder and a malabsorption disease that affects an 
estimated 2.2 million Americans. Celiac disease is, essentially, 
intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, oats and barley, 
as well as some medicines and vitamins.
  Additionally, I have consistently co-sponsored yearly resolutions 
designating a day in October as ``National Mammography Day'' and a week 
in August as ``National Health Center Week'' to raise awareness 
regarding both these issues and have supported passage and enactment of 
numerous health-care-related bills, such as the Rural Health Care 
Capital Access Act of 2006, which extends the exemption respecting 
required patient days for critical access hospitals under the federal 
hospital mortgage insurance program.
  As the Federal Government invests in improving hospitals and 
healthcare initiatives, I have fought hard to ensure that Oklahoma gets 
its fair share. Specifically, over the past 3 years, I have helped to 
secure $5.2 million in funding for the Oklahoma Medical Research 
Foundation, the Oklahoma State Department of Health planning initiative 
for a rural telemedicine system, the INTEGRIS Healthcare System, the 
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the Oklahoma Center for 
the Advancement of Science and Technology, St. Anthony's Heart 
Hospital, the Hillcrest Healthcare System, and the Morton Health 
Center.
  As a long supporter of HSAs, I believe all people should have access 
to them since they provide great flexibility in the health market and 
allow individuals to have control over their own health care. Medicare 
MSAs have existed since January 1, 1997, revised in December of 2003, 
but they have not worked. No insurer whatsoever has yet offered any 
Medicare MSA under the current law. To fix this problem, my legislation 
creates a new HSA program under Medicare that incorporates a high 
deductible health plan and an HSA account while dissolving the existing 
Medicare MSA.
  In tandem with my efforts, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Service, CMS, are launching an HSA demonstration project that would 
test allowing health insurance companies to offer Medicare 
beneficiaries products similar to HSA. This activity points to the 
Administration's support of HSAs and desire to see all seniors receive 
the best possible coverage.
  As the July 13, 2006 edition of The Hill, explains, ``no legislation 
is pending that would integrate HSAs into the Medicare program .  .  
.'' Thus, my legislation is necessary because real Medicare HSA reform 
is needed in order for seniors to have true flexibility and freedom of 
choice in their health care.
  Under my bill, beneficiaries who choose the HSA option will receive 
an annual amount that is equal to 95 percent of the annual Medicare 
Advantage, MA, capitation rate with respect to the individual's MA 
payment area. These funds provided through the Medicare HSA program can 
only be used by the beneficiary for the following purposes: as a 
contribution into an HSA or for payment of high deductible health plan 
premiums. However, the individual also has the opportunity to deposit 
personal funds in to the Medicare HSA.

[[Page S167]]

  My bill also guarantees that seniors be notified of the amount they 
will receive 90 days before receipt to ensure they have time to 
determine the best and most appropriate HSA to accommodate needs. The 
bill also allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to deal 
with fraud appropriately and requires providers to accept payment by 
individuals enrolled in a Medicare HSA just as they would with an 
individual enrolled in traditional Medicare.
  Please join me in supporting this important legislation to give our 
seniors more choices regarding their health care.
                                 ______