THE U.S. SENATE SHOULD ACT NOW TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH CARE

By U.S. Sen. Jim Talent

Whenever there's a national crisis, a lot of people in Washington, D.C., like to hear themselves talk.  Some point fingers, others propose solutions that cost billions, and sometimes trillions of dollars, and still others just don't do anything but talk.  When it comes to Americans without health insurance Congress should stop talking about the problem and start doing something about it.

Recent news from the U.S. Census Bureau about the number of Americans without health care should serve as a wake up call for the U.S. Senate. According to the Census Bureau, the number of uninsured has risen by 2.4 million people. In Missouri, 646,000 people don't have health insurance, an increase of 80,000 in just one year.

The good news is that there is a solution to this problem.  The bad news is the U.S. Senate has yet to bring it to the floor for a vote.  A group of us are working in the Congress to change this trend.

I am sponsoring legislation that would provide quality health insurance to millions of people who don't have it at no cost to the taxpayer.  The measure would create Association Health Plans (AHPs) and allow small business people to join together through their trade associations to purchase quality, affordable health care for themselves, their families, and their employees and their families.  

Right now health insurance is the number one problem facing small business people and their employees.  Of the 43.6 million people who are uninsured in the country, 60 percent either own a small business, work for a small business or are dependent on someone who works for or owns a small business.  And for the small business employees who do have health insurance, costs are rising on average more than 20 percent per year.

Small business is the foundation of the U.S. economy.  However, too many small business men and women live under a "sword of Damocles," where a single serious injury or illness can destroy everything they have built. 

I've talked personally with hundreds of people in small business who were, and are, desperate for affordable, high-quality health insurance.  They believe AHPs would offer them participation in a big national pool, with reduced costs of regulation, where they would not have to pay the marketing costs or profit margins of insurance companies. 

Anyone who wants to see how AHPs would operate can look at how health insurance works at Fortune 500 companies.  AHPs would operate the same way.  They simply allow small business people to join together, nationally, through their trade associations, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association or the American Farm Bureau, to purchase the same high-quality health insurance offered by big companies, labor unions, Medicare, Medicaid and the federal employee benefit system.  

According to CONSAD, a well-respected research firm, the legislation could, by conservative estimates, reduce the number of uninsured by 8.5 million.  The plans would constitute powerful competition with the insurance companies who now monopolize the small group market, holding down costs.  

As a result, AHPs would reduce costs of health insurance by 10-20 percent on average, and costs for very small businesses would drop much more.  This would result in millions of people getting health insurance who currently don't have it, and millions of others getting better coverage at less cost - and again, all at no cost to the taxpayer.

Months before the Census Bureau's uninsured numbers were released, and on numerous occasions over the last several years, the U.S. House has done a lot more than talk about the rising number of uninsured.  In June, the House passed AHPs with a strong bipartisan vote of 262-162 with the support of Missouri's U.S. Representatives Jo Ann Emerson, Roy Blunt, Kenny Hulshof, Sam Graves, Todd Akin, Ike Skelton and Karen McCarthy.  

The challenge now is to get the bill out of the Senate where inaction is inexcusable.

President Bush has repeatedly called on the Senate to pass AHPs.  The plan is a centerpiece of his health care agenda to help reduce the number of uninsured Americans.  
The President understands the power of this idea and what it will mean to real people without health care.

The bill faces opposition in the Senate, where its primary opponent is the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.  For years, the Blues' national association has spent millions lobbying against AHPs because the plans would force them to compete and lower their prices.  According to the General Accounting Office, the Blues have a monopoly on the small group market.  Without competition, they often "cherry-pick" or cancel health insurance coverage or raise their rates if a person gets sick, or simply refuse to offer health insurance to a small business that employs a sick person or someone with a history of illness.  

I don't begrudge anyone for wanting to make a profit.  However, the Blues' opposition to this bill is hurting real people who don't have health insurance or are paying too much for coverage.  They should step aside and let the Senate pass this bill.

There is no reason why we cannot pass the Small Business Health Fairness Act (S. 545) to create Association Health Plans.  The legislation is in the mainstream of both political parties.  It would make a huge difference for America, for small business, and the uninsured.  We simply ought to stop talking about problems in Washington and instead get something done for people.

Senator Jim Talent (R-Mo.) was elected to serve Missouri in the U.S. Senate in November 2002.  Previously he served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1993-2001) and the Missouri House (1985-1992).