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News Release

SECRETARY THOMPSON URGES CONGRESS
TO PASS PRESIDENT'S PLAN TO ASSIST UNINSURED

Citing a new report showing the number of uninsured Americans increased in 2001, Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today called on Congress to approve President Bush's plan to provide access to quality health care to those families who need it most.

President Bush has offered a comprehensive approach to providing health care for all Americans in his fiscal year 2003 budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services. In his budget request, the President aggressively seeks to increase access to health insurance through health credits and expanded eligibility under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid programs, in addition to his long-term goal of doubling the number of community health centers nationwide.

"The President has introduced a visionary, multi-layered proposal to increase access to quality health care for all Americans," Secretary Thompson said. "He is proposing more community health clinics, health credits and more freedom for states to extend insurance to those who need it. As this new report shows, we simply cannot afford to wait any longer. Congress must act quickly to approve the President's plan to assist American families who lack access to health care."

Health Credits

The President has proposed a series of health credits that will help families who don't have other insurance to secure the health care that they need. Under the President's plan, families with two or more children and incomes under $25,000 could receive up to $3,000 in credits to cover the cost of buying health insurance. Individuals earning up to $15,000 a year could receive a $1,000 credit.

This health credit also could be used to purchase private insurance through purchasing groups and state-sponsored insurance pools -- such as SCHIP or state employee pools. The health credit plan alone would help an estimated 6 million previously uninsured Americans get health insurance.

Increased Flexibility

Additionally, as former governors, President Bush and Secretary Thompson have made it a priority to make it simpler and easier for governors to submit Medicaid and SCHIP waiver requests and to have those requests considered promptly -- especially to help children. Since January 2001, HHS has approved waivers and plan amendments that have expanded eligibility to more than 2 million people and enhanced benefits for more than 6 million people.

In addition, HHS' budget proposal also would strengthen the SCHIP program by allowing states to use an estimated $3.2 billion in unused funds that otherwise would return to the federal treasury. These additional matching funds will enable all states to expand coverage to the uninsured - in addition to the more than 4 million children covered under SCHIP today.

Additionally, HHS has developed the Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability (HIFA) Initiative, a Medicaid and SCHIP waiver approach that gives states greater ability to design health insurance programs to meet the health insurance needs of their low-income populations.

Secretary Thompson launched the HIFA initiative last year to encourage states to expand access to health care coverage for low-income individuals through Medicaid and SCHIP demonstrations. The initiative gives states more flexibility to coordinate these companion programs and offers a simpler application for states that commit to reducing the number of people without health insurance. HIFA also encourages coordination between public and private coverage options for the uninsured.

Community Health Centers

The 2003 budget requests $1.5 billion -- a $114 million increase -- to support the President's strategy to create 1,200 new community health centers by 2006. The increase would support 170 new and expanded health centers and provide services to a million additional patients. The President's long-term plan is to double the capacity of our community health center system to expand access to care for millions of Americans.

To ensure that the community health centers have enough health care workers, the budget also increases funding for the National Health Service Corps by $44 million. Many of the professionals recruited into the service corps work in community health centers and other underserved areas.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: January 16, 2003