Plan Would Expand Access to Health Insurance Coverage to All Americans
Survey Found That the American Public Wants Congress to Address This
Critical Issue
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Congressional staff members were
briefed today at an event on Capitol Hill on a new policy proposal put
forth by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) to expand access to health
insurance coverage to all Americans.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040830/AHIPLOGO )
The plan is designed to expand access to health insurance coverage to
all children within three years and 95 percent of adults within 10 years.
It would expand eligibility for public programs, enable all consumers to
purchase health insurance with pre-tax dollars, provide financial
assistance to help working families afford coverage, and encourage states
to develop and implement access proposals.
"We are committed to working with federal legislators from both parties
to advance a positive agenda for health care reform," said James Roosevelt,
Jr., President and CEO of Tufts Health Plan. "This bipartisan plan provides
a practical, fiscally responsible, and politically achievable solution that
builds upon the strengths of the current system while utilizing the
innovation and efficiency of the private sector."
AHIP commissioned a public opinion survey which found that voters rank
access to affordable health care their number one domestic priority.
According to the survey conducted by Ayres, McHenry & Associates, Inc. and
The Glover Park Group on behalf of AHIP, 80 percent of adults want Congress
to do more to extend access to coverage.
"The American public wants Congress to address this critical issue,"
said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP. "Our members have put forth
a bold set of federal policy reforms that can act as a roadmap to reforming
the health care system in a way that will provide over 40 million uninsured
Americans will access to affordable coverage."
Full implementation of this proposal is expected to cost the federal
government approximately $300 billion over a 10-year period. AHIP expects
these reforms to reduce the rising cost of uncompensated care, thus saving
money in the long run.
"We currently spend nearly $50 billion a year in uncompensated care for
uninsured Americans. This is putting an undue burden on hard working
families who are paying approximately a thousand dollars a year in higher
premiums to offset these costs," said Ignagni. "The cost of inaction is
just too great to ignore. We can actually save money by bringing uninsured
Americans into the system and helping them get the care they need."
The AHIP plan calls for enactment of federal legislation that provides
significant financial incentives to states and makes changes to federal tax
policy to make health coverage more affordable. Key elements of the AHIP
plan include:
* Expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to make
eligible all uninsured children from families with incomes under 200
percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).
* Establishing a health tax credit of up to $500 for low-income families
who secure health insurance for their children.
* Improving and expanding Medicaid to make eligible all uninsured adults,
including single adults, with incomes under 100 percent of FPL.
* Establishing a Universal Health Account (UHA) to allow all individuals
to purchase any type of health care coverage and pay for qualified
medical expenses with pre-tax dollars, with federal matching grants for
contributions made by working families to the UHA.
* Establishing a new $50-billion Federal Performance Grant to assist
states in expanding access to coverage.
The Capitol Hill briefing is part of an ongoing effort by the health
insurance industry to expand awareness of and build support for these
policy proposals. AHIP is also devoting significant resources to a new "We
Believe" campaign. This effort includes a national community outreach
program led by AHIP board members, advertising in opinion-leader
publications, and earned media outreach.
To learn more about AHIP's reform proposal, please visit
http://www.ahipbelieves.com.
America's Health Insurance Plans - Providing Health Benefits
to More Than 200 Million Americans
SOURCE America's Health Insurance Plans
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Related links:
http://www.ahip.org
http://www.ahipbelieves.com
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040830/AHIPLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk
photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Mohit Ghose of America's Health Insurance
Plans, +1-202-778-8494
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