September, 1991 The Broncos' Voice Page 9
Cover Story
Health America: The Proposal To Save America's Health Care Problem
The following is a letter of support and
the blueprint for the health plan called
AmeriCare. This blueprint, one of the
best to be proposed in years, needs
tremendous support. All too often a
proposal such as this is left to linger on
the desks of lazy politicians who do not
take the demands of their constituency
seriously. Great ideas are proposed but
rarely are they followed through.
Unfortunately, the health care problem
in America is so atrocious that
everyone. Republicans and Democrats
alike, is looking for solutions. Now it is
up to the American people to push
ardently for action. Take time to write
or call the United States Senate. Let
them know that you support genuine
solutions to the health care problem in
America. Contact Senator Terry
Sanford, 716 Hart Senate Building,
Washington, DC 20510, (202) 224-3154.
The same address can be used to
contact Senate Majority Leader George
J. Mitchell.
STATEMENT OF SENATE
MAJORITY LEADER GEORGE J.
MITCHELL REGARDING
INTRODUCTION OF HEALTH
AMERICA: AFFORDABLE HEALTH
CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS
Today I will join with my
colleagues to introduce comprehensive
legislation to reform the nation’s health
care system to assure access to
affordable health care for all Americans.
This legislation is the
culmination of nearly two years of work
by members of the Senate Finance and
Labor Committees, and reflects input
from a wide range of interest groups
including health care providers, insurers,
consumer groups, the States, and many
others.
This proposal is the first of a
two part strategy to address the gaps in
health coverage for all Americans. The
second piece - coverage for long term
care - will complete our efforts to assure
affordable, quality health care for all
citizens. I am committed to enactment
of a long term care program, and intend
to introduce legislation to accomplish
this goal in the near future.
Access to affordable, quality
health care should be a right for all
Americans, not merely a luxury for
those who have the economic means to
purchase health insurance. As many as
37 million americans have no health
care coverage, and millions more have
insurance coverage which is inadequate
to protect them against the costs of
serious illness.
Furthermore, the rising cost of
health insurance threatens coverage for
all who are currently insured. Nearly
one million Americans lose their health
insurance coverage each year, often
because their employers drop coverage
because of the rising costs.
The problem of the uninsured is
not principally a problem of the
unemployed - two-thirds of the
uninsured are working persons or their
dependents whose jobs do not provide
what was once considered a routine
benefit - health insurance.
One-third of the uninsured are
children - one of four children in the
United States has no health insurance. If
we ignore the health care of our children
now, it will cost us more to deal with
the effects later.
The underlying crisis in our
nation’s health care system is the rapidly
rising cost which is eroding the very
foundation of the system for all
Americans, regardless of income.
We must find a way to bring
health care costs under control or we
risk adding millions more to the rolls of
the uninsured, and ultimately face a total
collapse of the health care system.
In 1990, the United States spent
$671 billion on health care,
approximately 12.2% of the Gross
National Product, up from 11.6% - $604
billion - in 1989.
Yet, in spite of the u-emendous
amount spent on health care and our
nation’s advances in medical treatment
and technology, our health care
outcomes compare poorly with many
other industrialized nations.
I believe we must build upon
the existing public - private health care
system which asks employers to provide
access to health care for their employees
and their dependents.
The legislation we are
introducing today will require all
employers to either provide private
health insurance to their employees or
contribute to a public program which
will provide coverage.
This program will replace the
existing Medicaid program for all
services except long term care. All
persons who are not eligible for
employer-based health insurance will be
eligible to receive health benefits
through AmeriCare.
AmeriCare is a dramatically
new public program. Federal standards
will be set for eligibility, benefits, and
reimbursement.
The legislation also includes a
number of provisions which are intended
to provide financial assistance to small
businesses in the form of tax credits to
help them adjust to the new
requirements.
In addition, this legislation
includes a provision to reform the small
group insurance market. This reform is
critical to small businesses who
currently cannot afford insurance or
whose employees are excluded from
coverage because of pre-existing
conditions.
This legislation also recognizes
that the Federal and State governments
must share the burden in reforming the
health care system and assuring access
to care for all of our citizens. Even
under the best care scenario, not all
Americans will have access to
employer-based health insurance.
If this legislation is to
accomplish our goal of providing
quality, affordable health care for all
Americans it must have as its underlying
foundation meaningful cost containment.
The cost containment provisions
included in this bill will result in
significant reductions in the rate of
increases throughout the system. The
establishment of a National Health Care
Expenditure Board and State Consortia
are the linchpin of cost containment
provisions which are estimated to save
nearly $80 billion over five years.
Reforming the health care
system will be difficult. While most of
us believe there is a serious problem,
few can agree on the solution. A perfect
solution does not exist. Some argue that
the United States should adopt a
Canadian model of national health
insurance. Others argue that tax
incentives to businesses with no
requirement to provide coverage is the
answer.
The legislation we are
introducing today represents a
compromise between those two views,
keeping in mind our own traditions and
values as Americans.
Our nation’s health care system
is on the critical list. I believe the time
to act is now. If we do not work
together to control the soaring costs of
health care and to provide care for
millions of Americans now covered or
at risk of losing their coverage, we will
all fall victim to the collapse of the
system.
I look forward to working with
my colleagues in the Congress to enact
meaningful health care reform in this
Congress. I challenge the Bush
Administration to wwk with us to
accomplish this goal which is vital for
the future of our nation.
Introduced by Senate Majority
Leader George Mitchell, Senator
Edward Kennedy, Senator Don
Riegle, and Senator Jay
Rockefeller
THE PROBLEM
Uninsured and underinsured
Americans: Every family is at
risk
Thirty-four million
Americans have no health
insurance, and the number is
rising every year. Over a two-
year period, an additional 30
million Americans will be
without health insurance for
substantial periods of time, often
for as long as six or seven
months. Sixty million more have
health insurance that the
Department of health and Human
Services said in 1987 would
prove inadequate in the event of
serious illness.
Children represent more
than a quarter of the uninsured.
The great bulk of the uninsured -
more than two-thirds - are
members of the working families
in which the main breadwinner
works full-time.
These numbers, large as
they are, are only the tip of the
iceberg. No American family can
be confident that it is more than
one job loss, one job change, or
one serious illness away from
being uninsured. Under current
practices in the insurance
industry, individuals who have
had a serious illness often find it
almost impossible to obtain
adequate coverage. As cost
pressures mount, businesses are
increasingly cutting back on
(con’t on page 18)