ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604190039
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
note: above
A BILL promising access to insurance for those who switch or lose jobs enjoys wide Senate support.
In a defeat for Majority Leader Bob Dole, the Senate rejected a proposal for medical savings accounts on Thursday as it debated legislation to expand access to health insurance for millions of Americans.
The 52-46 vote came as Dole, the GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting, moved in several other areas to put his own stamp on the election-year measure.
All the Senate's Democrats, joined by a handful of Republicans, voted to keep medical savings accounts from the measure. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., voted to include them. Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va., voted with the Democrats.
The White House had threatened to veto the bill if that provision was included, and Vice President Al Gore presided over the Senate, ready to cast his vote in case of a tie.
In the current, campaign-driven Senate, the vote bolstered chances for swift passage of the measure that lawmakers on all sides represented as a modest advance in the area of health reform.
Despite disagreement over medical savings accounts - an alternative to traditional health insurance that would include tax-deductible, individual savings accounts to cover medical expenses - the underlying legislation enjoys enormous support in the Senate.
At its heart, it is designed to guarantee access to insurance, regardless of any pre-existing health difficulties, for millions of Americans who now risk losing it when they switch or lose their jobs.
The bill ``does not strike out in a bold new direction,'' said Sen. Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas, the principal GOP sponsor. ``But it is a positive step forward that will help reduce barriers to health coverage for millions of working Americans.''
Said Sen. Edward Kennedy, of Massachusetts, the principal Democratic supporter, ``It is an opportunity we can't afford to miss.''
Kassebaum and Kennedy said in advance they would oppose any controversial amendments. That put Kassebaum at odds with Dole, her fellow Kansan, and most other Republicans.
But the maneuvering on the Senate floor underscored the political stakes of an election year. Dole and the Republicans want to enact a major health bill this year and have it signed into law, in part to be able to show success where Clinton failed two years ago.
``It's a bill that can be signed into law,'' Dole said. ``This is a serious work product that we've promised to the American people for a long time.''
At the same time, a measure passed by the House several weeks ago included tax breaks to subsidize medical savings accounts, and the idea has wide support among Republicans.
Even apart from that issue, Dole and Sen. William Roth of Delaware, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, succeeded, on a vote of 98-0, in inserting other provisions into the bill to make health care more affordable for millions.
One provision would gradually increase the portion of health insurance costs that are tax deductible for the self-employed from the current 30 percent to 80 percent over several years. The original bill would have permitted a 50 percent deduction.
Dole also proposed favorable tax treatment for long-term-care insurance and expenses; penalty-free IRA withdrawals for large medical expenses and for the unemployed to pay health insurance premiums, and permission for the terminally ill to receive advance life insurance payments without taxation.
The medical savings accounts debate hung over the entire bill.
Medical savings accounts would permit consumers to purchase an insurance policy with a high deductible to cover catastrophic illness. A portion of the premium would go into a tax-exempt savings account the consumer could use to pay routine medical bills or save for other purposes.
Opponents say they would prompt wealthy, young and healthy consumers to take a tax break and opt out of the traditional insurance market. That, in turn, could raise premium costs for everyone else.
LENGTH: Medium: 78 linesby CNB