Healthy Americans Act

The Healthy Americans Act (S. 334) is a Senate bill introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) in January of 2007. The plan would create a universal health care system that would be paid for by both public and private contributions. Specifically, it would establish Healthy Americans Private Insurance Plans (HAPIs). Individuals who are do not already have health insurance coverage, and who do not oppose health insurance on religious grounds, would be required to enroll themselves and their children in a HAPI. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and State Children's Health Insurance Program would be discontinued. [Congressional Research Service summary of [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00334:@@@D&summ2=m& S. 334] on the Library of Congress"Thomas" website]

Senators Wyden and Robert F. Bennett asked the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) to provide a preliminary analysis of a modified version of the Health Americans Act. In a letter dated May 1, 2008, CBO and JCT provided a preliminary conclusion that the proposal would be "roughly budget-neutral in 2014." The letter cautioned, however, that this did not constitute a formal estimate. [Peter R. Orszag, Director, CBO and Edward D. Kleinbard, Chief of Staff, JCT, [http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/91xx/doc9184/05-01-HealthCare-Letter.pdf Letter dated May 1, 2008] to Senators Ron Wyden and Robert F. Bennet]

References

External links

* [http://www.standtallforamerica.com/ Stand Tall For America] (Wyden's policy promotion web site)
* [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.334: Text of S. 334] on the Library of Congress"Thomas" website
* [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00334:@@@D&summ2=m& Summary of S. 334] by the Congressional Research Service (CRS)