Sali Works to Make Health Care More Affordable, Accessible

Press Release

Sali Works to Make Health Care More Affordable, Accessible

Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID) has introduced a plan to make health care more affordable and accessible for Idahoans and Americans all across the country.

"Far too many Americans lack the quality care they need, and my plan is designed to help them get it," Sali said. "The most significant health care challenges for most Americans are cost, access, portability and the freedom to choose their health care provider, and this bill begins to move us in the right direction on all those fronts." "While my proposal is not a comprehensive solution, its components should be part of any reform of America's system of health care and delivery."

The Sali bill, H.R. 7166, has five key components, which would:

Encourage primary care providers to move to rural and under-served areas by offering doctors a monthly tax credit for up to five years if they move to and work in a designated rural or underserved area. Many health care providers already qualify for student loan repayments and other assistance through the National Health Service Corps. This tax credit would be an additional incentive for doctors and nurse practitioners to move to Idaho and other underserved regions, and it is hoped that a five-year period would lead to them staying longer as they enjoy the quality of life in Idaho and other beautiful and affordable areas of the country.

Prevent upcoming Medicare physician fee schedule cuts to doctors through 2010. Recent Congressional debates over Medicare reform and Physician Medicare fee schedules in 2008 and 2009 have failed to address this matter effectively. The real cliff comes in 2010 when doctors will be slapped with a 21 percent cut in 2010. Democrats will find it hard to resist forcing even more awkward votes to address this cut, as long as Congress continues to delay reforming Medicare and runaway entitlement spending.

Offer every American the option of a refundable tax credit to incentivize and assist individuals and families to purchase any health insurance of their choice. This is a step toward making health care portable and may also lead to phasing out of SCHIP because SCHIP-qualified individuals would have money available through tax credits to purchase private insurance.

Expand Health Savings Accounts. This section of the Sali measure would increase the annual HSA contribution limitation; permit the use of HSAs to purchase health insurance; allow the payment of certain medical expenses incurred before the establishment of an HSA; allow veterans eligible for service-connected disability benefits to establish an HSA; and allow spouses to make increased catch-up contributions to a single HSA.

"We have the means available to us to address some critical areas of our health care system, and it is my hope that in the next Congress my colleagues will work with me in a bipartisan way to make these improvements. We can do better and, for the sake of millions of Americans, we must," said Sali.

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