September 20, 2004 Contact: Laura Clay Trueman
Washington, D.C. 202 626 8573
ltrueman@cahc.net

Coalition For Affordable Health Coverage Urges
HELP Committee Members to Move High-Risk Pool Legislation

On Wednesday, September 22, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee is scheduled to vote on legislation which would reauthorize state high-risk pools and expand the operating money available to states. The Coalition for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) urges the Committee to pass S. 2283, a bipartisan bill cosponsored by six Democrats and five Republicans.

“State high-risk pools make healthcare more affordable to everyone,” says Laura Clay Trueman, Executive Director of CAHC. “First, they help the most vulnerable in our society -- the small percentage of the population who are both uninsured and have a high-risk health condition like cancer or diabetes. Second, high-risk pools help stabilize the individual and small group insurance market by taking some of the strain of those high risk cases out of the mix. As a result, the many consumers who turn to the small group and individual market find more affordable rates than they would otherwise.”

Without federal action, start-up funding for high-risk pools expires on September 30, 2004. Currently, there are 33 states with risk pools. As of June 2003, enrollment was 172,845. Communicating for Agriculture (C.A.), a group representing farmers and small businesses, reports that the 2002 claims for the 29 risk pools totaled $1 billion. This legislation would increase the current authorization to help risk pools with operational losses from $40 to $75 million.

The Coalition for Affordable Health Coverage is a diverse group of businesses, associations, and consumers who advocate market-based reforms to reduce the uninsured. Members include: AdvaMed, Aetna, America’s Health Insurance Plans, American College of Cardiology, ALEC, American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, Assurant Health, Bayer Corporation, Federation of American Hospitals, FMC Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline, Healthcare Leadership Council, National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Manufacturers, National Association for the Self-Employed, PhRMA, UnitedHealthGroup, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Women Impacting Public Policy, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals