U.S. Chamber: Uninsured a Solvable Challenge

Vows to Press Coalition Agenda to Reduce Number of Uninsured

WASHINGTON, DC-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today announced its commitment to support a proposal of public and private sector solutions to expand health care coverage to a significant portion of America's 47 million uninsured. The proposal was offered by the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured (HCCU), of which the Chamber is a member.

"There are effective solutions to the crisis of the uninsured if we can find the political will to implement them," said Katie Mahoney, the Chamber's director of health care policy. "This diverse coalition has the muscle to break the political logjam on health care and help those most vulnerable in our society, beginning with uninsured kids."

HCCU's two-phased proposal contains public sector solutions and the creation of new tax credits that, when fully enacted, would cover at least half of the uninsured. The first phase would improve coverage for uninsured children by making it easier for currently eligible children to enroll in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). It would create a new tax credit to promote private sector health coverage for uninsured children in families with incomes below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Additionally, it would create a new demonstration program to encourage states to experiment with ways to improve coverage.

The second phase would improve coverage for adults by giving states the flexibility to expand Medicaid eligibility to include and cover adults at 100% of the federal poverty level. States would also be given flexibility to enable Medicaid to fund employer-sponsored health insurance. Additionally, it would create an advanceable, refundable, and assignable tax credit to help low income adults afford coverage either through employer-sponsored or state-sponsored insurance systems. Federal grants would also be provided to the states to establish different forms of insurance for high risk populations.

HCCU is comprised of 16 national organizations representing consumers, doctors, hospitals, employers, insurance companies, and others. A list of members can be found at www.coalitionfortheuninsured.org/.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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07-13