[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3789-S3791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. Graham, and Ms. Collins):
  S. 698. A bill to ensure the provision of high-quality health care 
coverage for uninsured individuals through State health care coverage 
pilot projects that expand coverage and access and improve quality and 
efficiency

[[Page S3790]]

in the health care system; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, there is a crisis facing our country, a 
crisis that directly affects the lives of almost 50 million people in 
the U.S., and that indirectly affects many more. The crisis is the lack 
of universal health insurance in America, and its effects are rippling 
through our families, our communities, and our economy. It is the 
number one issue that I hear about in Wisconsin, and it is the number 
one issue for many Americans. Nevertheless, for too long, Congress has 
been locked in a stalemate when it comes to health reform, refusing to 
move forward on this life-threatening problem because of party politics 
and special interests. That is why, for the past few Congresses, I have 
introduced with the Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, the 
State-Based Health Care Reform Act.
  Senator Graham and I are from opposite ends of the political 
spectrum, we are from different areas of the country, and we have 
different views on health care. But we agree that something needs to be 
done about health care in our country. Every day, all over our nation, 
Americans suffer from medical conditions that cause them pain and even 
change the way they lead their lives. Every one of us has either 
experienced this personally or through a family member suffering from 
cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, genetic disorders, mental illness or 
some other condition. The disease takes its toll on both individuals 
and families, as trips to the hospital for treatments such as 
chemotherapy test the strength of the person and the family affected. 
This is an incredibly difficult situation for anyone. But for the 
uninsured and underinsured, the suffering goes beyond physical 
discomfort. These Americans bear the additional burden of wondering 
where the next dollar for their health care bills will come from; 
worries of going into debt; worries of going bankrupt because of health 
care needs. When illness strikes families, the last thing they should 
have to think about is money, but for many in our country, this is a 
persistent burden that causes additional stress and hopelessness when 
they are ill.
  It is difficult to do justice to the magnitude of the uninsurance 
problem, but I want to share a few astounding statistics. The need for 
health care reform has reached crisis proportions in America, with over 
46 million Americans uninsured. As a result of our current economic 
crisis, that number is climbing by the day. In December of 2008 and 
January of 2009, it is estimated that 14,000 Americans lost their 
access to health care each day; in Wisconsin, 230 people each day lost 
access to care during these 2 months. The cost of providing care to the 
uninsured weighs heavily on the U.S. economy. According to research 
done by the journal Health Affairs, the uninsured received 
approximately $56,000,000,000 in uncompensated care in 2008. Government 
programs finance about 75 percent of uncompensated care. The cost of 
the uninsured weighs heavily on our collective conscience, as well. In 
my home State of Wisconsin alone, it is estimated that 250 
Wisconsinites, or 5 people each week, died in 2006 because they did not 
have health insurance.

  The U.S. is the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee 
health care for its citizens. In other countries, if someone is sick, 
they get proper care regardless of ability to pay. In our country, that 
is not the case. It is unacceptable for a nation as great as America to 
not provide good health care for all our citizens. We are failing those 
in need. We are failing the hard-working family that cannot afford the 
insurance offered to them. We are failing the uninsured children whose 
parents do not have any access to insurance. We are failing low-income 
Americans and middle-income Americans alike. This is not right. We can 
do better.
  Even for those Americans who currently have health insurance through 
their employer, the risk of becoming uninsured is very real. Large 
businesses are finding themselves less competitive in the global market 
because of skyrocketing health care costs. Small businesses are finding 
it difficult to offer insurance to employees while staying competitive 
in their own communities. Our health care system has failed to keep 
costs in check, and there is simply no way we can expect businesses to 
keep up. More and more, employers are forced to increase employee cost-
sharing or to offer sub-par benefits, or no benefits at all. Employers 
cannot be the sole provider of health care when these costs are rising 
faster than inflation.
  I travel to each of Wisconsin's 72 counties every year to hold 
townhall meetings. Almost every year, the number one issue raised at 
these listening sessions is the same--health care. The failure of our 
health care system brings people to these meetings in droves. These 
people used to think Government involvement was a terrible idea, but 
not anymore. Now they come armed with their frustration, their anger, 
and their desperation, and they tell me that their businesses and their 
lives are being destroyed by health care costs, and they want the 
Government to step in.
  I am pleased to be joined by Senator Graham in introducing the State-
Based Health Care Reform Act. In short, this bill establishes a pilot 
project to provide States with the resources needed to implement 
universal health care reform. The bill does not dictate what kind of 
reform the States should implement, it just provides an incentive for 
action, provided States meet certain minimum coverage and low-income 
requirements.
  Even though Senator Graham and I support different methods of health 
care reform, we both agree that this legislation presents a viable 
solution to the logjam preventing reform. It may well be that, with a 
new President and a new Congress, that logjam is already broken. I hope 
that is the case, as I have long said that a single-payer health care 
system is what I prefer for our country. I also recognize that there 
are strong obstacles to enacting real reform, and that we may need the 
support of members of Congress with different views on this topic. 
Senator Graham would like to see health care privatized and see a base, 
catastrophic coverage offered to everyone. Despite our disagreements 
about the form that health care reform should take, we agree on this 
legislation.

  With the election of Barack Obama, Americans have a real opportunity 
to reform our health care system. I look forward to consideration of 
health care reform this Congress, and I do not intend to push this bill 
as an alternative to broader efforts. But I do think our proposal may 
help provide ideas about how to bring together Democrats and 
Republicans on this issue.
  Under our proposal, States can be creative in the State resources 
they use to expand health care coverage. For example, a State can use 
personal or employer mandates for coverage, use State tax incentives, 
create a single-payer system or even join with neighboring States to 
offer a regional health care plan. The proposals are subject only to 
the approval of the newly created Health Care Coverage Task Force, 
which will be composed of health care experts, consumers, and 
representatives from groups affected by health care reform. This Task 
Force will be responsible for choosing viable State projects and 
ensuring that the projects are effective. The Task Force will also help 
the States develop projects, and will continue a dialogue with the 
States in order to facilitate a good relationship between the State and 
Federal Governments.
  The Task Force is also charged with making sure that the State plans 
meet certain minimal requirements. First, the State plans must include 
specific target dates for decreasing the number of uninsured, and must 
also identify a set of minimum benefits for every covered individual. 
These benefits must be comparable to health insurance offered to 
Federal employees. Second, the State plans must include a mechanism to 
guarantee that the insurance is affordable. Americans should not go 
broke trying to keep healthy, and health care reform should ensure that 
individual costs are manageable. The State-Based Health Care Reform Act 
bases affordability on income.
  Another provision in this legislation requires that the States 
contribute to paying for their new health care programs. The Federal 
Government will provide matching funds based on enhanced FMAP--the same 
standard used for SCHIP--and will then provide an additional 5 percent. 
States that can

[[Page S3791]]

afford to provide more are encouraged to, but the matching requirement 
will ensure the financial viability of the bill and State buy-in. Other 
than these requirements, the States largely have flexibility to design 
a plan that works best for their respective residents. The 
possibilities for reform are wide open.
  One of the main criticisms of Federal Government spending on health 
care is that it is expensive and increases the deficit. My legislation 
is fully offset, ensuring that it will not increase the deficit. The 
bill does not avoid making the tough budget choices that need to be 
made if we are going to pay for health care reform.
  We need a solution for a broken system where millions are uninsured, 
and where businesses and Americans are struggling under the burden of 
health care costs.
  It has been over 10 years since the last serious debate over health 
care reform was killed by special interests and the soft money 
contributions they used to corrupt the legislative process. The 
legislative landscape is now much different. Soft money can no longer 
be used to set the agenda, and businesses and workers are crying out as 
never before for Congress to do something about the country's health 
care crisis.
  We are fortunate to live in a country that has been abundantly 
blessed with democracy and wealth, and yet there are those in our 
society whose daily health struggles overshadow these blessings. That 
is an injustice, but it is one we can and must address. Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., said, ``Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in 
health care is the most shocking and inhumane.'' It is long past time 
for Congress to heed these words and end this terrible inequality.
                                 ______