ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Johnson Announces Hearing on the Nation's Uninsured

Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the uninsured population and solutions for expanding health insurance coverage. The hearing will take place on Thursday, April 5, 2001, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include experts on the uninsured population and on policies to increase health insurance coverage. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

This hearing will focus on the 42 million uninsured Americans. In 1999, for the first time in more than a decade, the percentage and number of Americans with health insurance increased. However, one in six Americans remains uninsured.

These uninsured Americans are a diverse group. More than four out of five uninsured are full- time workers and their families, and one out of five uninsured work for employers who offer coverage but choose not to take it. The primary reason cited for these uninsured workers was the cost of insurance premiums. Others in the uninsured category consist of lower income individuals who are either ineligible or fail to enroll in existing public programs.

President Bush has proposed a comprehensive plan to assist uninsured individuals, including offering refundable tax credits to lower and middle-income individuals. The hearing will provide a framework for the development of legislation to begin to examine the President's proposal and address the barriers faced in accessing health insurance coverage.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "Addressing the problem of the uninsured is absolutely critical because those without health coverage often go without quality health care. There are a lot of new and innovative ideas circulating to address this problem. This hearing will bring those ideas forward for the Committee to evaluate and act upon if appropriate. I look forward to working with the Bush Administration on reducing the number of Americans without health insurance."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing begins the Subcommittee's consideration of the issues on why many Americans lack affordable access to health insurance. The first panel will discuss trends in health insurance coverage and witnesses will help Members identify who has coverage and who does not. The second panel will turn to examining potential options for increasing coverage for the 42 million uninsured Americans, and focus on tax relief ideas, in particular.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, April 19, 2001, to Allison Giles, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Health office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at "http://waysandmeans.house.gov".

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.