[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21697-21698]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            HEALTH INSURANCE

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am here today to talk about health 
insurance. A year ago, in the spirit of bipartisanship, I joined 
Senator Wyden and Senator Bennett in cosponsoring the Healthy Americans 
Act. The Wyden-Bennett bipartisan legislation offers elements that are 
consistent with a ``patient-driven'' approach to improving our health 
care system. A ``patient-driven'' approach means people can shop for 
their own health insurance in a competitive marketplace, which will 
allow them to choose the type of health care coverage that meets their 
needs. Many in the Democratic Party, including the Democratic 
Presidential candidate, want a Government-controlled system that is not 
``patient-driven.'' This is a non-starter and is bad policy. And the 
majority of Americans do not want the Government making their health 
care decisions for them.
  I continue to be interested in exploring ways to reform the health 
care system through the Tax Code. I am interested in examining whether 
Congress should offer Americans a choice between a tax credit and a 
deduction for health insurance. The Wyden-Bennett bill raises some 
tough questions that we need to explore as we look at health care 
reform. We need to determine the future role of Medicaid and SCHIP in 
our system over the long haul. We need to explore better ways to make 
the market work to hold down the rising costs of health care. And we 
need to find better ways to make health coverage more affordable and 
secure. This ``patient-driven'' approach--with insurance reforms and 
changes in the tax treatment of health insurance--should make health 
insurance more affordable for everyone. The goal should also be, if 
people are happy with their current health care coverage, they can keep 
it.
  During my tenure in the Senate, I have sought to build bridges 
between Republicans and Democrats. I believe that there are times where 
Republicans and Democrats need to come together to produce results. 
Health care reform cannot be successful if it is not bipartisan. I 
commend Senators Wyden and Bennett for forging the only bipartisan 
effort in Congress to date.
  As I did last year, I want to make clear that my cosponsorship of the 
Wyden-Bennett bill is not an endorsement of all that the bill proposes. 
Instead, I am cosponsoring this bill to add my voice to those who are 
calling for people to work across party lines to find innovative 
solutions that can work. While I support the ``patient-driven'' 
approaches in the bill, I have serious concerns about a number of the 
provisions of the Healthy Americans Act. For example, this bill would 
require all individuals to buy health insurance. I support 
accessibility to private insurance and differ with my colleagues on 
this point. Also, Senator Wyden's approach envisions a bigger role for 
Government than I would prefer. In addition, I certainly am not 
endorsing the repeal of the non-interference clause in Medicare Part D. 
That is not going to be on the table for me.
  I also need to address a concern about the Wyden-Bennett bill I have 
seen pop up lately. These accusations are particularly troubling 
because I don't think they are accurate. It is true that the Joint 
Committee on Taxation has estimated the gross cost of the bill to be 
about $1.4 trillion annually by the year 2014. It is also true that the 
Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the bill is fully paid for 
so the net cost to the Federal Government is zero. I have also read a 
concern that the Wyden-Bennett bill does not do enough regarding 
mandated benefits. The Wyden-Bennett bill reduces the impact of the 
myriad State mandates so that there will only be a much more limited 
set of requirements of a health plan much more consistent with what is 
already provided to Federal employees today.
  Finally, I want to refute one particular charge regarding coverage of 
abortion services. The Wyden bill does not mandate that every American 
buy a health insurance plan that covers abortion services. This Senator 
supports legislation that protects life, and one only needs to point to 
my record in this area for evidence of that fact. I would not support a 
bill that requires individuals to purchase health insurance that covers 
abortion, or legislation that encourages women to seek

[[Page 21698]]

abortion. And, while I agree that Americans deserve similar health care 
options that Members of Congress enjoy, I don't agree that Washington 
should mandate coverage of procedures that purposely end human life. 
Should this bill move forward, I will work with my colleagues to make 
sure abortion coverage is not made mandatory.
  So my cosponsorship is not an endorsement of all provisions of the 
bill. Instead, I have cosponsored the Healthy Americans Act to add my 
voice to the bipartisan call for significant changes in our health care 
system. This is only one step in the process of the public discussion 
of ideas for improving our health care system. I also intend to 
continue working with Chairman Baucus and members of the Senate Finance 
Committee on his health care reform agenda.
  We have serious problems, and we need to solve them. So it's time to 
get to work.

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