News Release

UNINSURED CRISIS SOLUTIONS SHOULD FOCUS ON SMALL BUSINESS, BAXTER INTERNATIONAL CEO TELLS HOUSE PANEL

WASHINGTON, D.C. JULY 9, 2002 -- The head of one of the nation's leading medical technology companies told a House subcommittee today that reducing the number of Americans without health insurance requires a greater focus on small businesses not providing coverage to their employees.

"We do know the uninsured," Baxter International Chairman and CEO Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr. testified. "It may very well be your next door neighbor, the cashier at the local market, or the person who runs our local day care center...Most uninsured Americans -- eight of every 10 -- live in a household that's drawing a paycheck. We know that the smaller your workplace, the more likely you are to be uninsured."

Kraemer chairs a CEO-level task force on the uninsured for the Healthcare Leadership Council, a coalition of chief executives of the nation's premier health care companies. He testified before the employer-employee relations subcommittee of the House education and workforce committee.

Kraemer told the subcommittee that the HLC supported a three-pronged approach to make health coverage more accessible: 1) the use of refundable tax incentives, 2) improvement of existing public programs like Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, including giving states greater flexibility to use those funds to help low-income workers purchase private coverage, and 3) achieving greater awareness among small business owners and low-income workers on the importance and availability of health coverage.

Studies have shown, he said, that many small business owners don't know the cost of health insurance for their employees and many also aren't aware that health coverage is tax deductible.

"This tells us that we can make a dent in the nation's uninsured numbers by providing small employers with credible, useful information on the cost and availability of health coverage," Kraemer told the subcommittee.

The Healthcare Leadership Council has launched a national campaign called Health Access America to urge action on behalf of the uninsured. Kraemer said the campaign would include a Main Street Initiative which will provide health insurance information to small employers.

"We are concerned about the impact this issue has on the cost and accessibility of health care for all Americans, and the well-being and productivity of our communities," he testified.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

	Media Contact: Jill Dalovisio, Healthcare Leadership Council, 202-452-8700