Wednesday, February 19, 2003
|
Wednesday, February 19, 2003 |
Seabaugh defends insurance billBy JOHN
THOMPSON
State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) maintained this week that his bill offering consumers more choices in health care will actually help more residents obtain insurance. Senate Bill 50, authored by Seabaugh, would allow residents who are unemployed or work for small businesses an opportunity to buy cheaper health insurance, Seabaugh said. "It allows people choices. For instance, a 21-year-old single person working for a small business could opt out of maternity insurance," he said. By picking the coverages you need, the health insurance premiums are lowered and the insurance becomes more affordable, he said. Seabaugh's proposal came under fire in The Citizen last week from Tonya Holder, a letter writer from Peachtree City, who claims the measure will hurt more than 40,000 working families in Seabaugh's Senate district. Holder called the bill "Healthcare Light" and said it allows the insurance companies to get away without paying for mandated healthcare tests, such as pap smears, mammograms and prostate cancer screenings. But Seabaugh believes there is confusion about the bill. "There's a difference between health insurance and health care. The focus of this bill is allowing people to pick which things they want covered. By being able to afford insurance, they will then have access to healthcare," he said. The senator estimates the bill applies only to about 20-25 percent of the population that is currently not covered by insurance. "It gives people an opportunity to get insurance without having to pay high premiums for tests or care they don't need," he said.
|
||