Biden Announces Health Care Proposal In Iowa

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 25 Oct 2007 - 6:00 PDT

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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden (Del.) on Tuesday at Des Moines University announced a proposal to expand health insurance to all U.S. residents, the Des Moines Register reports. The proposal, which Biden said would cost $80 billion to $120 billion annually, would:

• Establish a federal reinsurance pool to reimburse employers, health insurers or associations for 75% of catastrophic health care costs in cases that exceed $50,000 per individual;
  
  
• Allow children in families with annual incomes as much as 300% of the federal poverty level to enroll in SCHIP and children in higher-income families to pay to participate in the program on a sliding scale (Roos, Des Moines Register, 10/24);
  
  
• Eliminate copayments for physical examinations, vaccinations, vision and hearing tests, and preventive dental exams for all children (AP/Boston Herald, 10/23);
  
  
• Allow all U.S. residents to purchase health insurance through a program similar to the Federal Employees Benefits Program; and
  
  
• Allow residents ages 55 to 64 to pay to participate in Medicare, with a federal subsidy for low-income residents (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 10/23).
  

According to Biden, the proposal would not require U.S. residents to obtain health insurance. Biden said that he would finance the proposal through the elimination of tax cuts proposed by President Bush and approved by Congress for the wealthiest 1% of U.S. residents and the elimination of other tax cuts.

Biden said, "It's time to take charge of our health care system." He called the federal reinsurance pool for catastrophic health care costs the "biggest bang for the buck" and the "thing that is morally most in demand" (Des Moines Register, 10/24). In addition, he said, "Getting this done will require the kind of experience and leadership that comes from years of success corralling bipartisan support for numerous issues," adding, "I have that experience and it will prove invaluable when I am president" (AP/Boston Herald, 10/23).

Biden's plan is available online.

Health Care Advisers
In other election news, health care advisers to five Democratic presidential candidates on Tuesday at a forum in Washington, D.C., discussed the health care proposals of their respective candidates. During the forum, part of a Congressional Quarterly "Presidential Forum" series, the advisers highlighted the need to improve preventive care and chronic disease management as part of health care reform. In addition, the advisers highlighted the need to establish "exchanges" in which individuals could select from a number of private health plans that would compete and, as a result, reduce costs.

Low-income individuals could receive tax credits to help cover the cost of health insurance, they said. The advisers also said the health care proposals of their respective candidates would not expand health insurance to undocumented immigrants but cited the need for a system of safety net providers.

Chris Jennings, adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.); Gregg Bloche, adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.); Barbara Markham Smith, adviser to Sen. Chris Dodd (Conn.); Peter Harbage, adviser to former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.); and Sarah Dish, adviser to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, participated in the forum (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 10/23).

Poll
Almost half of Democratic voters believe that efforts by Clinton to expand health insurance to all U.S. residents in the 1990s, although failed, would improve her ability to enact health care reform as president, and 19% believe her past experience would limit her ability, according to a recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. The poll, conducted from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22 and supervised by Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus, included responses from 1,039 registered voters nationwide.

Overall, 48% of Democratic voters favor Clinton for the presidential nomination, compared with 17% who favor Obama; 13% who favor Edwards; 2% who favor Biden and Richardson; and a combined less than 2% who favor Dodd, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) and former Sen. Mike Gravel (Alaska) (Wallsten/Hook, Los Angeles Times, 10/24).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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