Health Insurers Propose Plan to Cover Uninsured

By News Staff
11/29/2006

A plan that would, among other things, expand the Medicaid program and create federal tax incentives to buy private health insurance has added yet another dimension to the discussion on how to cover the nation's uninsured. The proposal, set forth Nov. 13 by America’s Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP, would cover all low-income children within three years and all poor adults within 10 years. It also would implement tax incentives to encourage people to buy private health insurance.

"This is a step forward -- that the insurance plans recognize all Americans need coverage," said AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan. "It's good that the health insurance industry has entered the debate."

The plan is presented in two parts: "A Vision for Reform" (11-page PDF file; About PDFs) and "Principles for State Reform" (11-page PDF file; About PDFs). In its proposal, AHIP, which represents private health insurance companies, calls for:

expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, to include all uninsured children from families living at 200 percent of the federal poverty level or below;
expanding Medicaid to cover uninsured adults, including single adults, living at the federal poverty level or below;
establishing a Universal Health Account to allow people to buy insurance and pay for health coverage with pre-tax dollars;
creating a health tax credit of up to $500 for low-income families who buy insurance for their children; and
creating a $50 billion federal performance grant program to help states expand access to coverage.

"It's good to see they support reauthorization of SCHIP, which (the Academy is) calling for," said Kellerman. "But they don't mention medical homes. We need to have a primary care-based system where everyone has a medical home that will help ensure affordability and will improve the quality of care."

The AHIP proposal comes as the issue of the uninsured has begun heating up -- again. Numerous surveys released in the weeks before the recent mid-term elections indicated access to health care ranked among Americans' top domestic concerns. In September, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the ranks of the uninsured grew to 46.6 million people, or 15.9 percent of all Americans. The Employee Benefit Research Institute's Health Confidence Survey, released Oct. 18, shows Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with the health care system, primarily because of rising costs.

Those data have spurred discussion among federal lawmakers, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who's expected to be named chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and who has promised action on dealing with the uninsured, and Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who's expected to chair the House Ways and Means Committee and who has promised hearings into solutions for the problem of the uninsured.

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