Groups, lawmakers devise proposals on
health insurance
Wed, Jan. 17, 2007
WASHINGTON - After more than two years of negotiations, a diverse
group of business, consumer and health care organizations will
announce a plan on Thursday to dramatically reduce the estimated
47 million Americans without health insurance.
The proposal, by a group called the Health Coverage Coalition
for the Uninsured, is the latest attempt since Democrats seized
control
of Congress to address America's health insurance crisis. It's notable
because it represents a unified action plan by organizations with
varied and often competing interests - and because lawmakers and
their staffers were excluded from negotiations.
" We felt that for us to really achieve the consensus breakthrough
that we were looking for that we should meet quietly and confidentially
and without members of Congress participating," said Ron Pollack,
director of Families USA, a liberal patient advocacy group that's
part of the coalition. "Now that we've concluded the process,
we are very actively talking to members in both houses and on both
sides of the aisle" about legislation that adopts their recommendations.
Details of the coalition's plan for covering more children and
adults have been closely guarded. But the first phase, improving
health coverage for children, reportedly dovetails on efforts to
reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Known
as SCHIP, the state-federal block grant program covers low-income
children and is projected to have a shortfall of $930 million this
year, which could jeopardize coverage for up to 640,000 kids.
Nationally, 8.3 million children were uninsured in 2005, up from
7.9 million in 2004. Nearly 1 in 5 impoverished children lacked
coverage in 2005. The coalition also is expected to call
for increased tax credits to help pay for coverage and for pooling
large numbers of uninsured
individuals to get cheaper rates.
" We wanted to craft something that appeals to Democrats, Republicans,
conservatives and liberals, and has a balanced public-private approach," said
Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Programs. "We
think there's a moment in time now that various groups coming together
can make a material difference."An equally disparate group
of business, labor and senior advocacy interests also is stepping
up lobbying and public awareness efforts
for overhauling the nation's costly health care system
References :http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/16483218.htm |
