[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S2330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DORGAN (for himself and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 442. A bill to impose a limitation on lifetime aggregate limits 
imposed by health plans; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I join today with Senator Dorgan to address 
the growing problem of beneficiaries who exceed their lifetime cap on 
health care coverage. Today, many Americans responsibly purchase a 
health plan to cover themselves and their loved ones in case of 
illness. Tragically, some of these individuals become stricken by 
illness that is extremely expensive to treat, and too often exceeds 
their policy's lifetime cap provision. After doing all you can to act 
responsibly and avoid becoming a burden on society, an overly 
restrictive lifetime cap on benefits can cause one to go bankrupt--and 
ultimately shifts costs to public programs such as Medicaid.
  We have seen that even beneficiaries who acquire health insurance 
with seemingly hefty lifetime caps have found that the high cost of 
modern treatments--combined with medical inflation which exceeds the 
consumer price index by two to threefold--has greatly deflated the true 
value of the lifetime cap. The legislation offered today addresses this 
issue by setting a higher minimum cap. It has been estimated the cost 
of this improved protection--spread over many insurance purchasers--
will increase premiums by approximately $8 per year. This reinforces 
the principle of insurance--spreading high risks over many purchasers--
in order to assure adequate protection should a protracted and 
expensive illness befall an individual. This bill will also assure that 
costs are not inappropriately shifted onto the government programs, 
such as Medicaid--where taxpayers will feel the brunt of financial 
responsibility for costly treatment.
  As I work with my colleagues and the administration to grapple with 
how to make health care more affordable to the millions of Americans 
struggling to pay their premiums, coinsurance and copays--raising the 
floor on lifetime caps will provide the immediate financial relief to 
families so that they will have access to health care should a costly, 
chronic disease occur.
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