McCarthy Pushes for Legislation to Help Uninsured
McCarthy Pushes for Legislation to Help Uninsured
Monday May 02, 2005
(WASHINGTON) Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) announced she is co-sponsoring three bills that, if enacted, would cover over half of America's working uninsured.
"This week is 'Cover the Uninsured Week,' and the number of uninsured working Americans continues to grow," said McCarthy. "Currently there are more than 2.8 million uninsured workers in New York and 45 million nationwide, an increase of more than five million since 2000."
"This is a serious crisis that needs to be addressed by Congress immediately," added McCarthy. "These three bills I have co-sponsored will expand on proven programs to provide affordable coverage to more than 23 million working Americans, with a focus on the nearly elderly, working parents, and small business employees."
The Small Business Health Insurance Promotion Act would create a 50 percent tax credit to help small businesses and the self-employed with the costs of health coverage. Currently, over half of America's uninsured workers are self-employed or work for a small business with fewer than 50 employees.
The FamilyCare Act would lower costs and expand affordable coverage for working parents, by making the parents of children eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid also eligible for coverage. These working parents frequently work at jobs that do not provide access to employer-based insurance.
And the Medicare Early Access Act would allow people between the ages 55 and 64 to purchase Medicare. Currently, there are 3.5 million uninsured people age 55 and over who are not yet eligible for Medicare. Together, these bills could cover over 23 million uninsured Americans.
"That so many hard-working Americans cannot access or afford health care coverage while Congress does nothing is disgraceful," said McCarthy. "I will continue to fight for meaningful reform to ensure our working families can afford the health care coverage they deserve."
http://carolynmccarthy.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=304&ParentID=0&SectionID=32&SectionTree=32&lnk=b&ItemID=296