Senator Durbin (D-IL)'s response to my letter regarding health care.

I thought you all might be interested in this response that I received from Senator Durbin regarding correspondence that I sent to him concerning the health care crisis. Those of you that are small business owners and self employed would benefit from a couple of the bills presented to legislation and the rest of you would benefit from the other legislative measures being taken. Please write your Senator and Congressman regarding these measures. Support the proposed bills. I feel that this is at least a start in the right direction.

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July 10, 2007

Ms. Janean Watkins

(Address Ommited By Blogger)

Dear Ms. Watkins:

Thank you for sharing your concerns about health insurance.

All Americans should have access to affordable health care coverage. More than 46 million Americans are without health insurance today, including 8.5 million children. Since 2000, health insurance premiums have gone up 73 percent. The cost of prescription drug coverage is skyrocketing, increasing at double digit rates in each of the past nine years. These costs keep dependable, quality health care coverage consistently out of reach for many of our nation's citizens. One of the most frequent concerns I hear from businesses as well as consumers involves the rising cost of health insurance. This struggle is especially severe for small businesses and their employees. These are signs of a health system in distress.

To address these problems, I support an employer-based approach to universal health insurance coverage, supplemented by a publicly-financed program to assist those with limited means and to encourage small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees.

Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked for legislation to make health insurance more affordable and accessible for all Americans. I fought successfully to provide a full health insurance tax deduction for the self-employed, so that they could receive the same tax treatment as large corporations when paying health insurance premiums. I also supported legislation that has expanded access to health care for uninsured children, through the creation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP).

Despite this progress, there is more work to be done. Many Americans lack insurance because there are no plans that will cover them at a reasonable price. Others find themselves working for employers who only offer one insurance option or do not offer health insurance at all.

Senator Lincoln of Arkansas and I have introduced the Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act (S. 874). Under our bill, the self-employed and employees of small businesses would be eligible to join a purchasing pool that would allow them to select from a range of health insurance plans similar to those offered to Members of Congress and federal employees. Small businesses wishing to take advantage of this group purchasing opportunity and willing to contribute a fair share of the cost of their employees' health insurance would be eligible for tax credits to help them afford the cost.

I also have introduced the All Kids Health Insurance Coverage Act (S. 2137), which would provide access to health care for the 70 percent of uninsured children who are from middle-class families earning too much to qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but not enough to purchase health insurance in the private market. This measure, which is modeled after the state of Illinois' All Kids program, would eliminate the federal income eligibility cap so that children from families earning more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level would be eligible to enroll in SCHIP, regardless of their family's income. The program would be funded through a combination of federal funds and affordable monthly premiums and co-pays paid by families.

I worked to amend and pass the State High Risk Pool Funding Extension Act (H.R. 4519), which authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue federal grants to states to operate or expand high-risk pools to provide health care coverage for patients who have been denied individual medical insurance due to a pre-existing health condition. The Illinois high-risk pool, known as the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan (ICHIP), will receive a $5.4 million grant through this program to help it provide premium relief to ICHIP beneficiaries.

I also am pursuing legislation that would make prescription drugs more affordable. I have supported legislation which would speed the availability of generic drug equivalents following the expiration of a name-brand drug patent. I have also introduced the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act (S. 345), which would give seniors the option of choosing a Medicare prescription drug plan whose prices are negotiated by HHS on behalf of seniors, similar to what is done for our nation's veterans. In addition, I am a cosponsor of the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act (S. 334), which would allow pharmacists and wholesalers to safely import prescription drugs from Canada.

Congress needs to give greater attention to the growing health insurance crisis. I will continue to explore ways to expand health insurance access to all Americans and to promote measures that address the high cost of insurance while providing flexibility and choice. Thanks again for contacting me.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin

United States Senator

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