Universal Health Care Plan

Fighting For Health Insurance Coverage

The health of our people is vital to the well-being of America. Yet almost 44 million Americans (including 2.8 million Floridians) lack adequate health insurance coverage. And the ranks of the uninsured continue to grow at an alarming rate.

Peter Deutsch rejects the old excuse that we cannot afford to expand health insurance coverage. He understands that, as a group, the uninsured suffer from decreased work productivity, lower school achievement, and shorter life expectancy, among other negative outcomes. America cannot afford to leave its people longing for such a basic necessity.

In the United States Senate, Peter Deutsch will work to secure health insurance coverage for each and every man, woman, and child in Florida and throughout the United States. To make that happen, Peter Deutsch will seek comprehensive action in three key areas: expanding health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, generating significant savings in health care costs, and reducing the Federal deficit to generate essential resources.

Expanding Coverage to Millions of the Uninsured

The adage, "Good things come to those who wait," does not apply to health care. When a person needs health care, time is of the essence. When more than 40 million lack access to health insurance coverage - including more than 9 million children - America cannot spare one moment. Help is overdue. In the U.S. Senate, Peter Deutsch will bring help in the form of health insurance coverage to millions of Americans.

He seeks to:

• Expand Medicaid to every uninsured child, parent, or childless adult with family incomes below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Federal funds will cover costs of expanded eligibility.
• Expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to include all children and young adults up to 25 years old living in households with incomes up to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Federal funds will pay for program expansion.

• Allow all Americans to access the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) with a separate pool from Federal employees. This plan will provide the same coverage options enjoyed by Members of Congress. The FEHBP plan will offer individuals and employers an attractive coverage option. (Participating large businesses will be prohibited from segmenting their employees who participate in the FEHBP plan or varying employer contributions based upon employees’ plan election.)
• Provide refundable tax credits for up to 50 percent of the cost of coverage for small businesses and their employees participating in the FEHBP plan.
• Provide low income individuals with assistance for premiums that exceed six percent of their income. Individuals with higher incomes will pay up to 12 percent of their incomes toward premiums.
• Provide laid off workers with up to six months of a 75 percent COBRA subsidy to purchase coverage through their former employers or the FEHBP plan.
• Provide individuals aged 55 to 64 who lack access to insurance through an employer with a 25 percent tax credit to purchase coverage in the FEHBP plan.

Generating Savings in Health Care Costs

Health care costs are rising at an unsustainable pace. To provide health insurance coverage to all who need it, we must find ways to stabilize and reduce health care costs. In the Senate, Peter Deutsch will work for cost reductions through the following actions:

• Decrease significantly the costs of uncompensated care, which according to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured will cost nearly $41 billion in 2004.
• Reduce administrative costs by expanding the use of technology to create a secure electronic medical records system and conducting health care transactions between the Federal government and private entities electronically.
• Provide incentives for private sector initiatives to promote healthy lifestyles as well as prevent and manage diseases.
• Implement policies to reduce medical errors and frivolous litigation that affect malpractice premiums.
• Provide incentives to improve health care quality.
• Use purchasing power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
• Increase efforts to combat health care fraud and abuse.

Reducing the Federal Budget

Ultimately, America’s ability to provide health care insurance coverage for each and every man, woman, and child will depend upon the fiscal discipline of the President and Members of Congress. In the Senate, Peter Deutsch will work to set America back on the path toward solid budgetary footing.