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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 10, 2004

Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343

STATEMENT BY TOMMY G. THOMPSON
Secretary of Health And Human Services
Regarding "Cover the Uninsured Week"

As we begin "Cover the Uninsured Week," we all must work together to help the more than 40 million Americans who do not have reliable health insurance. Lack of health insurance is a problem that has many causes, so we need to address the issue on many fronts simultaneously.

Since 2001, we've worked aggressively to strengthen the health care safety net for all Americans. The President's health centers initiative, for example, has added about 500 new and expanded health center sites nationwide over three years, allowing these centers to serve millions more Americans. The President's fiscal year 2005 budget plan builds on this progress and move us even closer to meeting the project's goal -- expanding the number of people who are served at health centers from about 10 million in 2001 to 16 million.

We've also promoted innovation at the state level to strengthen Medicaid and SCHIP and expand coverage to more in need. Since January 2001, HHS has approved waivers and plan amendments that allowed states to expand eligibility to more than 2.2 million people and to improve benefits for more than 7 million people. We also awarded nearly $32 million in grants to help 18 states create and maintain qualified high-risk pools, which provide health coverage to people generally too sick to be able to afford conventional insurance.

In addition, last year's Medicare modernization legislation established new tax-free health savings accounts for individuals and groups who purchase low-premium, high-deductible health plans. These portable accounts will help families pay their routine medical expenses and provide a tax-preferred means of saving for future health care needs.

Of course, we must do more. That's why President Bush has proposed an aggressive set of reforms to help make health care more affordable for all Americans, especially those who lack coverage.

The President's plan includes legislation to allow small businesses to band together and negotiate on behalf of their employees and their families. Such association health plans would help small businesses and employees obtain health insurance at a more affordable price. We've also renewed our proposal to create refundable tax credits of up to $1,000 for individuals and $3,000 for families to help low-income people buy health insurance coverage.

In addition, we continue to support medical liability reform and call on Congress to enact such legislation this year. By reducing unnecessary liability costs, these reforms will increase access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans, while reducing frivolous and time-consuming legal proceedings against doctors and health care providers that are driving good providers out of local communities across the country.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: May 10, 2004

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