Health Care

Christopher believes Americans should have access to the best health insurance, but rapidly increasing costs are locking too many out of the market and must be addressed.  He supports achieving universal health insurance coverage, and along with Representative Jim Langevin from Rhode Island, he introduced the American Health Benefits Program (AHBP) Act.  This legislation will use the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) -- the coverage that all members of Congress and federal employees have -- as a model to extend coverage to all Americans.

 

The AHBP will set up a marketplace for private healthcare plans to compete for all Americans' enrollment, just as plans compete in the FEHBP system.  Individuals will be responsible for 28 percent of the premiums, with additional assistance for low-income individuals.  Employers will pay a payroll tax that is adjustable depending on the size of the firm and the average salary, with the total contribution per employee capped at $12,000 with most employers paying less than this amount.

 

Employers do not have to participate in the plan, as long as they offer equivalent coverage, but we believe they will eventually see greater cost savings and by enrolling in the plan, not to mention the reduced burden of having to negotiate health benefits packages year in and year out.

 

Individuals will have a mandate to purchase coverage, and if they fail to do so, they will automatically be enrolled in the lowest cost plan.  This will save hospitals billions of dollars in uncompensated care -- perhaps as much as $30 billion -- so we are asking for hospitals to pay a two percent tax on revenues.

 

We also know that none of this will be successful if in the long run we don't do anything to rein in costs, so Christopher's bill creates the Health Benefits Commission.  The Commission will be tasked with studying and reporting specific recommendations to Congress on what drives health costs and how to reduce it.  For example, the Commission might tell us that we need to develop a more effective tort system for medicine, or it might suggest that all health plans participating in FEHBP require their beneficiaries to participate in a preventive health program.  Only by managing health on the front end will we be able to prevent serious health conditions from developing on the back end.

 

Christopher also believes we should incentivize the purchase of health insurance through the tax code.  He supports expanding health savings accounts, making health expenses first-dollar deductible for those who itemize, and creating a refundable tax credit to be used towards the purchase of health insurance.

 

Christopher is also a leading advocate in Congress of overturning the limitations on federal funding of stem cell research set down by the President in August 2001.  This life-saving research needs to be expanded.  We now know from scientists that the restrictions in place hinder American researchers' abilities to stay at the forefront of medical innovation.  This research gives hopes to millions of Americans suffering from diabetes, various cancers, spinal cord injuries, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, and other illnesses, and Christopher is happy to be part of the solution that renews their hope in medical research.>

 

Christopher also strongly believes we need to increase our investment in the National Institutes of Health, and for the past two years he has led the effort to grow the NIH budget, and will continue doing so until we restore the NIH’s research purchasing power from where it was when we finished successfully doubling its budget in 2003.  The current budget simply does not meet our research demands.  For this reason, he co-authored a letter that was signed by 184 of our colleagues in support of a 6.5 percent increase in NIH funding for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY 09).  NIH research is one of the most promising and useful federal investments we can make and Christopher will continue to strongly support additional funding for this agency.