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February 13, 2002 at 07:00 PM
NU Online News Service, Feb. 13, 6:30 p.m. – Vip Patel, chairman of eHealthInsurance Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., was the only health insurance executive who testified today at a hearing of the full House Ways and Means Committee on the Bush administration’s proposal for health insurance premium tax credits.
Patel’s company is a Web-based health insurance broker.
Even a relatively small, $1,000 credit should be enough to help two-thirds of the uninsured get health coverage for the equivalent of less than $50 a month, Patel told the committee, according to a written version of his remarks posted on the committee Web site.
Patel also emphasized the importance of taking some action to help the uninsured, even if that action might not help all the uninsured.
“I have encountered among proponents of 100% consumer based, employer based or government-based health care plans a recurring ‘all or nothing,’ mentality,” Patel said. “If we turn away ideas because they won’t solve the problem in its entirety, there is a strong chance no one will be helped.”
