[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 123 (Monday, July 30, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S10317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN:
  S. 1899. A bill to require every American to have health insurance 
coverage; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I take this time to explain a bill I am 
filing today that will establish universal health coverage called 
Universal Health Coverage Act. Let me tell you why I am introducing 
this bill.
  Our health care system provides the highest quality health care in 
the world if you are fortunate to get access to it. People come from 
all over the world to come to our great academic centers to get their 
health care needs met and to train their health care professionals.
  In my home State of Maryland, I am very proud of the University of 
Maryland Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University. We have great 
institutions, such as the National Institutes of Health, that provide 
top-quality health care.
  The problem is too many people cannot get access to affordable 
quality health care in America. We have 46 million uninsured; 9 million 
are children. We spend more money than any other country by far on 
health care, and yet our health care results do not reflect that type 
of investment of our public funds.
  The No. 1 problem in health care in America today is the number of 
uninsured. We need to do something about it. The Universal Health 
Coverage Act does exactly that. It says every person in this country 
must have health insurance.
  We are paying for the people who do not have health insurance. Those 
of us who have health coverage are paying more for our doctors and 
hospitals. We pay more in taxes because people have no health 
insurance. The reason is they have delayed diagnosis and treatment that 
leads to more serious illness and treatment for those who have no 
health insurance.
  We all pay the price with higher premiums and cost. According to the 
Institute of Medicine, taxpayers shoulder 65 percent of the total cost 
of uncompensated care through subsidies to hospitals and clinics. The 
same study showed that poor health care status from being uninsured 
costs our Nation between $65 billion and $130 billion a year. It is in 
our interest as those who have health insurance and as taxpayers that 
we have universal health coverage in America.
  Why does it cost more for someone who has no health insurance? With 
two people with the same types of conditions, it can actually cost our 
system more for those who have no health insurance because they do not 
seek preventative health care. Fewer than one-half of uninsured women 
ages 50 to 64 have received a mammogram in the past 2 years compared to 
75 percent of women with insurance. Only 18 percent of uninsured adults 
over the age of 50 have had colon cancer screenings in the last 5 years 
compared to 56 percent of adults with insurance. Only 35 percent of 
uninsured Americans had dental examinations in the last year. When 
uninsured receive care, it is often at a much later point and is more 
costly and less efficient. We can do something about it.
  Who are the uninsured? Another myth: Eighty-one percent of the 
uninsured actually come from working families. These are working 
families who are unable, for whatever reasons, to get affordable health 
care coverage. Low-income Americans with family incomes below 200 
percent of poverty run the highest risk of being uninsured. More than 
one-third of the poor and 30 percent of the near poor with incomes 
between 100 percent and 200 percent of poverty lack health insurance.
  My legislation is simple. The Universal Health Coverage Act requires 
personal responsibility, requires everyone to have health insurance, 
and it builds on the current employer-based system and protects 
government-sponsored health programs.
  We would require every American to have qualified health coverage. 
That qualified health coverage could be Medicare, it could be our 
veterans health care, it could be one of the governmental programs, or 
it could be an employer-sponsored health plan.
  We then empower the Secretary of Health to work with the State 
insurance commissioners to develop three low-cost plans in every State 
in the Nation so there will be an available product to those who cannot 
find an affordable health care plan.
  The plans would be available for those whose incomes are below 400 
percent of poverty. The reason we picked that number, 400 percent of 
poverty, is those above generally have the opportunity to buy insurance 
at work. Those below are the most vulnerable in our community.
  Those who fail to enroll in any coverage would be required to pay a 
tax which would be equal to the premiums so that the Government can 
enroll them in one of the low-cost plans within their State.
  This plan makes sense. It is a framework on which we can build. It 
says we will not tolerate 46 million people without health insurance, 9 
million children without health insurance. It allows the States to do 
innovative approaches to deal with those who otherwise would have 
problems affording their health care. We expect States to act. States 
are already acting. States are already showing leadership. This 
framework will give States the incentive to move further along. 
Employers who now know every employee needs health benefits are more 
likely to provide insurance for their workforce, and there would be an 
affordable product because everyone would be in the system. We would 
not have adverse risk collection or cherry-picking by insurance 
companies. It gives us the framework to move forward and will allow the 
Federal Government to move in those areas in which the Federal 
Government can do best to help those who are otherwise vulnerable.
  I hope we will not let this opportunity go without dealing with the 
No. 1 problem in our health care system, and that is dealing with 
people who do not have health insurance. I look forward to working with 
all my colleagues so we can work on a doable plan, so this country not 
only has the highest quality health care, but we have a system in which 
all Americans have access to that quality care.
                                 ______