Andrews introduces health care bill in House similar to one in Senate> Plan a `private-public partnership,’ congressman says

PORTLAND — Calling the present system “a disaster,” U.S. Rep. Tom Andrews said Thursday he has introduced a health care reform bill that would guarantee basic coverage for all Americans and curb rising costs.

The 1st District congressman said the bill he introduced in the House on Wednesday is similar to a measure offered in the Senate by fellow Democrats Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania and Tom Daschle of South Dakota.

The American Health Security Plan, as the bill is called, is the latest in a series of proposals to address the health care issue. Other Democrats have favored a national insurance system modeled after Canada’s or a “pay or play” plan in which employers who do not insure their workers would be subject to a payroll tax.

Andrews said his plan sought to blend the best aspects of the private and public sectors while giving states the flexibility to come up with approaches they think would be most effective.

“It’s a private-public partnership, it’s a federal-state partnership, and it’s a way to try to provide health care as a fundamental right of all Americans in a way that doesn’t break the bank,” he said.

Andrews said the plan would establish an independent Federal Health Board to determine a minimum package of health care benefits for everyone and set a national limit on spending with budgets for each state.

States would design and oversee the administration of their health care systems based on the federal guidelines, he said. Financing would come through premiums paid by individuals and businesses on the basis of ability to pay, Andrews said.

While the overall cost has yet to be determined, he said it would be less than the more than $800 billion now spent under the present system. He said savings would be achieved by slashing bureaucratic red tape, rooting out fraud and abuse, and emphasizing primary health care and disease prevention.

The Andrews plan also would provide for long-term and home-based care for the elderly and the disabled.

“I will not claim that this legislation and the comprehensive reform that it would create is a magic elixir that will cure all of the ills of our health care system,” Andrews said.

“Bu I do believe that it is an important step in the right direction. And I hope that it will contribute to the critical task of addressing and solving our nation’s health care crisis.”

Andrews said private insurers could play a role by providing supplemental insurance to cover services not included in the basic package and by administering health care delivery programs under contract to the states.

He said the U.S. system is the most expensive in the world, but the nation ranks behind other industrialized nations in such key areas as infant mortality, life expectancy and immunization against disease.

“The health care system in our country is a disaster. It costs too much and covers too few while it threatens the security of millions of families, weakens our economy and drives our federal budget to the breaking point,” he said.