State of Union Address

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kelly Loussedes, Director of Public Relations

January 29, 2003 (703) 276-3835 or kloussedes@nahu.org or

Janet Trautwein, Vice President of Government Affairs

President Bush Makes Health Care a Top Priority

(Arlington, VA) -- The National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) commends President Bush for making the health care of the American people an important part of his domestic agenda as mentioned in the State of the Union Address last night.

"Our health care system and the consumers who depend on it are facing an unprecedented crisis of rising costs, resulting in reduced access to both quality health care and affordable health insurance," said Janet Trautwein, vice president of government affairs. “We applaud the president for making access to affordable health care a priority and for his commitment to working with members of Congress on solutions to these critical problems.

"We are pleased to see the strong commitment from the president to reform medical liability laws. Runaway lawsuits have forced physicians to leave their practices in many locations, resulting in a real crisis in access to health care services for patients nationwide. These same lawsuits have been a major factor in the increasing cost of health care. We all bear the burden of these higher costs, which increase the practice of defensive medicine and result in higher costs for health products and services, which are reflected in higher health insurance premiums.

"We also applaud the president for speaking up against nationalized health care. While single-payer plans can offer all citizens some type of health insurance policy, they cannot guarantee access to medical care – much less prompt delivery of quality care. The problem that needs to be addressed is that many Americans lack access to affordable health care; the rationing that is inherent in a single-payer system can mean not having access to medical care at all.

"While there is no question that our health care system can be improved, a better solution would be to implement market-driven initiatives to restore competition to the health care market, such as refundable health insurance tax credits. Health tax credits represent a simple and realistic way to extend private health insurance coverage to those uninsured individuals and families who are most in need of assistance. Last year, President Bush signed trade legislation that provides a refundable tax credit to help eligible individuals maintain their health insurance if they lose their jobs due to trade arrangements. We believe that similar tax credits could benefit many types of workers who have lost their jobs, as well as many other Americans who are unable to afford the cost of health insurance.

President Bush also proposed modernizing Medicare and including a prescription drug benefit. “Comprehensive Medicare reform is vital to the survival of a system that millions of seniors depend upon each year,” added Trautwein. “NAHU strongly believes that access to affordable prescription drugs should be a part of an overall reform plan that addresses the serious flaws of the antiquated program."

"NAHU looks forward to continuing work with both Congress and the Administration on these important health issues."

The National Association of Health Underwriters represents more than 17,000 professional health insurance agents and brokers who provide insurance for millions of Americans. NAHU is headquartered in Arlington, VA. For more information, visit www.nahu.org.

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