Statements on Introudced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS--AUGUST 3, 2006 -- (Senate - September 05, 2006)

By Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Ms. MURKOWSKI):

S. 3813. A bill to permit individuals who are employees of a grantee that is receiving funds under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act to enroll in health insurance coverage provided under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be an original coauthor of the Community Health Center Employee Health Coverage Act of 2006 with Senators SMITH and MURKOWSKI. I ask for unanimous consent that a fact sheet with respect to the legislation be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

Fact Sheet

Problem: Like many small businesses, health centers have seen their health insurance premiums sky-rocket. Although they delivered comprehensive primary and preventive care to more than 15 million people in 2004, more than 6 million of whom had no health insurance coverage, these rising costs will have detrimental impacts on health centers as they are forced to channel federal grant dollars (which are intended for the uninsured and underinsured) to pay for the increasing insurance expenditures. If this continues, health centers may eventually be forced to either reduce the coverage of their own employees or reduce the availability of health care in their already underserved communities.

Fortunately, employees of health centers are generally healthy individuals and largely do not have chronic diseases or high medical bills. The irony here is that at the same time that health center employees are providing quality care to the uninsured and very poor, they are often unable to afford health insurance themselves. Furthermore, health centers have cited affordable health care as a key concern in recruiting and retaining quality employees and clinical staff.

Solution: This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Smith, Bingaman, and Murkowski, would reduce health centers' rising health insurance costs and also improve coverage in many cases and therefore save taxpayer grant money that would otherwise be used to pay health insurance premiums. The bill would enable health centers to use scarce funds to continue providing care in their communities. In addition, extending coverage under FEHBP to health centers would allow health centers to continue to offer health insurance to their employees so they too don't join the ranks of the uninsured.

This bill would not set a precedent. The law currently provides for Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) coverage for other individuals who are not federal employees but do receive federal grant funds for their operations, such as Gallaudet University or USDA grant recipients comprised of local farmers. Currently FEHBP covers over nine million federal employees, while Heath Centers employ nearly 100,000 people across the country.

This would be a logical extension of the health centers' Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) legislation, where health center staffers are deemed as federal employees for medical malpractice coverage purposes. This bill would extend the same mechanism for health insurance purposes.

Benefit: This bill will aid in the continuation of providing quality health care to those who need it most. It would also provide relief to community health centers in the form of lower premiums and better coverage for their employees by deeming them as federal employees for purposes of the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). There should be no federal cost for this bill as health centers will pay the health care premiums for their employees but at a less expensive cost.

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