Agreement Reached On Health Insurance Bill

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 25) -- Stalemated for weeks, Senate leaders reached agreement on medical savings accounts, which had held up passage of the Kennedy-Kassebaum health insurance bill, a measure designed to ensure portability of health insurance between jobs.

Led by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Democrats had been blocking the conference for weeks to prevent the savings accounts, which would allow taxpayers to set aside money for medical expenses, from being included in the conference report.

But the agreement reached today will allow 750,000 MSA policies to workers in businesses with under 50 employees. After four years, those employees can keep their accounts, but Congress would have to authorize additional ones.

Many Republicans enthusiastically tout MSAs as a way to put individuals in charge of their health expenditures, which they say could help lower costs. Democrats fret that MSAs would draw healthy people out of traditional plans and raise premiums for less healthy people who need more insurance.

"I hope we can pass this legislation for the final time, and then send it on to the president," Daschle said earlier. "I feel optimistic about the other pieces of this important legislation, including the portability question."

Agreement Reached On Health Insurance Bill

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