Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 24, 1994 TAG: 9403240108
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The 6-5 vote in the Ways and Means health subcommittee, ending the first congressional attempt to write a health-care bill, was an important psychological victory for Clinton and the Democrats.
The subcommittee bill, written by Chairman Pete Stark, D-Calif., would extend Medicare benefits to the uninsured and require all employers to help pay for their workers' coverage. It also would do away with Clinton's plan to make most Americans get insurance through government purchasing co-ops called health alliances.
"We took out some of the most objectionable portions of the Clinton proposal," said Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich. "It keeps the ball moving in a better direction, but it's still far from perfect."
Stark's bill is a far cry from a finished product, and most observers expect that the legislation Congress eventually passes months from now will be substantially different. For example, Stark's bill does not include a long-term care program. Clinton and many Democrats are committed to expanding long-term care as part of health-care reform.
"Nothing that passes 6-5 or anything that close can ever be a national bill," said Sen. Dave Durenberger, R-Minn., a key GOP moderate. "When health reform passes in the Senate, 80 percent of the senators will vote for it. That's the only way to prove to the American public that it will work."
A Senate Democratic staffer said Stark's idea for covering the uninsured through a new "Medicare Part C" has little support on the other side of the Capitol, because senators see it as a steppingstone to a government-run health-care system. "Over here, the Medicare idea won't fly," the aide said.
Stark's bill now goes to the full Ways and Means Committee, which will take it up after the two-week spring recess that begins Monday. Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., is not bound to follow Stark's blueprint and is likely to make major changes.
Some highlights:
Coverage and Benefits: All Americans would be covered by 1998. New Medicare Part C insurance program would be set up for individuals and workers in companies with fewer than 100 employees. Benefits include hospitalization, doctor visits, diagnostic tests, prescriptions and limited mental health services. Abortion would be covered. The benefits package is not as rich as President Clinton's. Elderly now on Medicare would get prescription coverage.
Who Would Pay: All employers would be required to pay at least 80 percent of the costs of the national benefits package, estimated at $2,500 for one adult. Employers who now offer more generous benefits would have to continue to offer them for five years. Employers with fewer than 100 workers could buy private coverage or enroll workers in Part C. Individuals would pay 20 percent of the premium. Subsidies would be provided for low-income people and, in some instances, for small businesses.
by CNB