March 08,2001

Grassley Announces Hearings on the Uninsured


Hearing 1: “Living Without Health Insurance: Who’s Uninsured and Why?”

Date/time: Tuesday, March 13, 2001, at 2:30 p.m.

Location: 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Hearing 2: “Living Without Health Insurance: Solutions to the Problem”

Date/time: Thursday, March 15, 2001, at 2:30 p.m.

Location: 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Description: Millions of Americans live without health insurance. Leaders including PresidentBush and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, plan toaddress this problem. Grassley will convene two committee hearings. The first willidentify the populations that make up the uninsured and their unique characteristicsthat cause them to go without health coverage. Specifically, this hearing will addressthe low-income population, the working population, the near-elderly, and theimmigrant population. The second hearing will focus on ways to address theproblem. Witnesses will discuss solutions such as individual tax credits, employertax credits, increased flexibility in Medicaid and the State Children’s HealthInsurance Program, program expansions, and ways to improve outreach.

Witness List: “Living Without Health Insurance: Who’s Uninsured and Why?”
Tuesday, March 13, 2001

A Panel Consisting of:
Kathryn G. Allen, Director, Health Care -- Medicaid and Private Health Insurance Issues, UnitedStates General Accounting Office, Washington, D.C.

Diane Rowland, Executive Director, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured,Washington, D.C.

Mary R. Grealy, President, Healthcare Leadership Council, Washington, D.C.

Richard W. Johnson, Senior Research Associate, The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C.

Leighton Ku, Senior Fellow in Health Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Washington,D.C.

Note: A witness list for “Solutions to the Uninsured Problem” will be available later.