THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 30, 1996 TAG: 9609300029
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: DECISION 96
AT ISSUE: ECONOMIC LIFE
As Virginians look forward to the Nov. 5 election, they're thinking a
lot about issues that are important in their lives. This week we
examine the qualities citizens want in their leaders, and how a few
Hampton Roads residents view those qualities.
SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 165 lines
A decade after her marriage began, Kathy Stitt knew it was over. As with many newly single parents, her loss was compounded when she also had to leave her economic security and later her home.
Further, the former Virginia Beach homemaker, now 43, said she had to remain legally married for 4 1/2 more years in order to keep her health insurance.
``I couldn't afford the $300 a month to buy it on my own,'' Stitt said.
Stitt and her 8-year-old son, Brian, eventually moved in with her parents, and her 12-year-old daughter went to stay with her father in North Carolina, although Stitt retains custody. Health insurance for both children is provided by their father.
Stitt said she encountered several barriers when she tried to re-enter the work force. Her secretarial skills were outdated. ``We used typewriters,'' she said. And little was available in on-the-job or low-cost training. There was no counseling for her or day care for the children. Further, she said, laws requiring safe, clean and affordable day care were not strong enough to make her trust them with her kids.
She also could not shake the feeling that she was abandoning her children by working full time - which was the reason she had become a stay-at-home mom while the marriage lasted.
For a while, she worked as a home day care provider as a means to make money and stay with her children. She also went back to school and lived off her savings for a while. But she shortly compromised and took on part-time work at the Norfolk School Board. And more recently, she added part-time hours at the Church of the Holy Family in Virginia Beach. The church also provided her the health insurance she'd needed, if she was to get divorced.
``I was scared to death, after all those years at home,'' said Stitt, of the new responsibilities. ``I had children depending on me.''
Stitt says she's financially stable, although she still does not earn what she used to before she was married.
``Each month I pay all of my bills, but I don't have much left over,'' she said. ``I'm unable to do anything as far as my future, my retirement, goes. I had to put that on the back burner, but I love my job.''
She gives much of the credit to her parents. ``If I didn't have my parents I wouldn't be in this position now. I'm lucky to have them. Others like me aren't so lucky.'' MEMO: ON TUESDAY: Workers, the government and businesses must all work
together to create a successful work force, says Annette Gray of
Chesapeake, a shipyard employee by day and an adult education teacher by
night.
NEXT WEEK: EDUCATION
Sunday, we will hear what candidates and citizens have to say about
education. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
STEVE EARLEY
The Virginian-Pilot
After a divorce, homemaker Kathy Stitt couldn't afford health
insurance. Now, with several part-time jobs, she's financially
stable, but things like retirement planning are still beyond her
reach. ``Each month I pay all of my bills, but I don't have much
left over,'' she said. She's concerned about what can be done to
help single parents like her afford health insurance.
STEVE EARLEY
The Virginian-Pilot
Kathy Stitt, here with her 8-year-old son, Brian, re-entered the
work force after her marriage ended. But health insurance was out of
reach.
STITT'S QUESTION FOR THE CANDIDATES
What can be done to help single parents who work part-time get
health insurance they can afford?
SENATE
John W. Warner
``I've been working for years on various Senate committees to
address these concerns. I worked on the Republican task force that
examined market-based health care reform. In 1994, I co-sponsored
Dole's market-based health care reform bill. Last year, I
co-sponsored the Kassebaum bill. Among its many provision, this bill
assures that a person changing jobs can transfer insurance coverage.
There is no federal guarantee regarding the cost of the coverage.
Such regulations are administered by the states. This bill does
allow penalty-free withdrawal from IRAs to pay for health care
premiums. There are a variety of other options such as
self-insurance and risk pools. Part-time workers should ask their
employers to examine these options. Ultimately, if a workers can't
afford any insurance, they may qualify for Medicaid or Medicare.''
Mark R. Warner
``As we continue to struggle to reform the health care system, we
must never lose sight of those caught in the middle - folks who work
hard, don't qualify for Medicaid and can't afford private insurance.
I would favor testing community-based solutions geared toward those
who need health care but just can't afford it. As the founding chair
of the Virginia Health Care Foundation, we've tested a variety of
public-private community-based solutions that get health care to the
uninsured. We are currently active in 60 communities providing
health care to 45,000 Virginians. It's these type of innovative
solutions I want to bring to Washington, D.C.''
HOUSE
2ND DISTRICT
John F. Tate
``Most health care costs and insurance are not currently
tax-deductible for individuals. I favor making all health care costs
100 percent tax-deductible to all individuals and allowing civic
organizations, churches and clubs to offer group health policies.''
Owen B. Pickett
``A Medicaid managed care program or health maintenance
organization should be available to workers who are not otherwise
covered by health insurance in return for their paying a premium
computed as a uniform percentage of their gross pay.''
3RD DISTRICT
Elsie Goodwyn Holland
``I don't believe in single parenting. If you're a single parent
you elect to be one. If that is what you elect to be, you have to
make it on your own. Aside from tragedy, such as death, that might
cause you to be a single parent, you have to suffer the consequences
of your choices. I don't see it as the government's responsibility
to get you health insurance if you're a single parent. Government's
responsibility is education. Birth control, there is a dire need for
it. And you can't start soon enough with that kind of education - in
the middle schools, maybe the elementary, but certainly in the high
schools. We need to let young men and women know what the
consequences are and prevent single parenting. The family is a
beautiful institution. I support it wholeheartedly.''
Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott
``Health care insurance is too expensive for most part-time
workers. We should increase eligibility for Medicaid so that single
parents don't have to lose health care for their children when they
get a part-time job. Two years ago, I introduced legislation that
would have allowed low-income workers to purchase the equivalent of
Medicaid on a sliding fee scale. Now you either qualify or you
don't. Sliding fee means you pay more according to your income.
Those just above the eligibility for Medicaid pay a small amount of
their income and receive the health care equivalent to Medicaid.
Those well above the cut-off would pay significantly more. The bill
did not pass, but I think that would be one solution.''
4TH DISTRICT
Norman Sisisky
``We haven't solved that problem. Obviously if their income is
very low, they're eligible for Medicaid. Somewhere along the line,
we're going to have to solve the health care problem. It's going to
happen, but we don't know exactly when it will be. The solution has
got to be nonpartisan or bipartisan.''
Anthony J. Zevgolis
``We could give small businesses incentives to provide insurance
coverage and allow smaller companies to group so they would be able
to buy insurance. We also could give tax incentives to encourage
employers to include part-time employees in their benefits
packages.''
KEYWORDS: ELECTION VIRGINIA CANDIDATES ISSUES by CNB