All Americans should have access to
affordable, quality health care. I want
to reduce the rising cost of health care
by providing affordable coverage to
those who need it most – low income
children and families, small businesses,
the self-employed, and people who do not
get health benefits through their job.
To achieve the goal of more affordable
health care, the Congress must look to
the states for ideas.
The Republican
philosophy that the State’s are
laboratories of democracy and are where
our best public policy ideas are
formulated holds true in Massachusetts.
Governor Romney and the Massachusetts
legislature are leading the way by
offering health insurance for everyone
“without a government takeover and
without raising taxes.” Their
market-based reforms will make health
insurance available to every resident of
Massachusetts within the next three
years.
The new
Massachusetts law requires every
individual in the state to purchase
health insurance by July 1, 2007. Of
Massachusetts’ approximately 500,000
uninsured, about 100,000 are eligible
for Medicaid. Another 200,000, who are
300 percent below the Federal Poverty
Level, and are not eligible for
Medicaid, will receive premium
assistance on policies without a
deductible on an income-based sliding
scale. Another 200,000 with incomes
above 300 percent FPL will be able to
purchase lower-cost policies in the
private market. Premium assistance will
be financed by redirecting a portion of
the $1 billion currently spent by state
government on the uninsured. Failure by
individuals to purchase health insurance
will result in the loss of their state
tax refund equal to 50 percent of an
affordable health insurance premium.
Penalties will be assessed for each
month without creditable coverage.
The creation of an
entity called the Commonwealth Care
Health Insurance Connector will allow
individuals to purchase affordable plans
on a pre-tax basis. The Connector will
administer premium assistance for
low-income individuals and facilitate
employer contributions for both
full-time and part-time workers and
those working at more than one company.
Those eligible to purchase through the
Connector are non-working individuals,
working individuals at companies that do
not offer health insurance, workers not
eligible for coverage at their place of
business such as part-timers,
contractors and new employees, small
businesses with 50 or fewer employees,
and those who are self-employed
This
groundbreaking legislation will also
enhance the goal of greater transparency
in health care costs and quality through
the collection and publication of data
needed by consumers to make informed
decisions. The information will allow
consumers to compare the quality, track
record and cost of hospitals and
providers. The Massachusetts Executive
Office of Health and Human Services have
already begun providing details of the
plan for review by federal Medicaid
officials.
Improving Health Care for Children
Promote Affordable Health Care for
Children – I will support President
Bush’s nationwide, billion dollar “Cover
the Kids” campaign to sign up more
children for quality health care
coverage. The “Cover the Kids”
initiative will combine the resources of
the Federal Government, the States, and
community organizations, including
faith-based organizations, with the goal
of covering all SCHIP-eligible children
within the next two years.
Promoting Affordable Health Care for
Every American
To address the root causes of high
health care costs and help provide
affordable health care to all American
families, I will work in the next
congress to:
Expand Health Savings
Accounts (HSAs) - Tax credits for
low-income families and individuals
to purchase health insurance, or to
purchase a low-premium,
high-deductible health plan and an
HSA. Families will receive up to
$2,000 for their premiums and $1,000
cash to put in their HSAs to help
meet the deductible. Individuals
will receive up to $700 for their
premiums and $300 for their HSAs.
Promote a Health Savings Account Tax
Credit to Help Small Business
Employees -Tax credits for HSA
contributions to help individuals
and families who work for small
businesses fund their HSAs. Small
businesses and their employees who
set up an HSA will get a tax rebate
for contributions to the HSA of up
to $500 per worker with family
coverage and $200 per worker with
individual coverage.
Expanding Community Health Centers
I understand the needs of the uninsured
in our medically underserved communities
and I promise to open or expand 1,200
health center sites to serve an
additional 6.1 million Americans by
2006. I will work to:
Ensure that Each of America's
Poorest Communities has a Health
Center - These health centers are
located in medically underserved
urban and rural areas where there is
little access to basic health care
services. They provide critical
primary and preventive health care
services to low-income individuals,
migrant farm workers, homeless
individuals, and children,
regardless of their ability to pay.
I believe that technology must be used
to further reduce health care costs. I
fully support the following initiatives:
Promoting Health Information
Technology (IT) – The Congress must
take the lead on a new initiative to
make electronic health records
universally available within the
next decade. This new initiative
will improve health care quality,
reduce its cost, and improve access
to affordable care by applying to
health care the same information
technology that has transformed so
many other industries. Health IT
will also help eliminate medical
mistakes, leading to increased
quality and safety for patients.
Fighting Health Care Fraud and Waste
- President Bush signed a Medicare
bill that will cut wasteful spending
out of the program, saving seniors
and taxpayers an estimated $20
billion over the next decade. The
Department of Health and Human
Services also has issued regulations
closing a Medicaid loophole that
will save the Federal Government an
estimated $25 billion. The President
has proposed saving another $24
billion over the next ten years by
reducing states' Medicaid
cost-shifting to the Federal
Government.
Enhancing Long-Term Care Insurance
As Americans continue to live longer,
long-term care has become an
increasingly important issue. I
understand that the growing need for
long-term care calls for planning both
by individuals and by Government. In
this area, heroic sacrifices are being
made by millions of families who care
for their mothers and fathers as their
parents cared for them.
Tax Deduction for Long-Term Care – I
support a new above-the-line tax
deduction that individuals could
claim for long-term care insurance
premiums.
Additional Tax
Exemption for Home Caregivers of
Family Members. I believe that
individuals caring for an ill family
member at home, such as an adult
taking care of an elderly parent,
should be able to claim the family
member as an additional personal
exemption on their federal taxes
