Senate looks at small business insurance

The AMA joins other medical groups to express wide-ranging concerns while cancer and diabetes organizations fear for loss of preventive care coverage.

By Elaine Monaghan, AMNews staff. May 8, 2006.

Washington -- A war of words has erupted over a Senate health care bill that doctors' and patients' groups say threatens cancer screenings, childhood vaccinations and diabetes care, while supporters maintain that it would shrink the ranks of the uninsured.

Sen. Michael Enzi (R, Wyo.) says small businesses and trade associations, groups that often cannot find affordable coverage for their employees, will benefit from the "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act" because it would allow them to band together to negotiate deals on a national basis. About half the country's uninsured people work for small businesses, and the bill's backers say it would expand the number of insured workers by 900,000 and cut costs by 15% to 30%.

But the American Medical Association, plus organizations ranging from the AARP to the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as patient advocates and state insurance commissioners, have expressed concerns.

Still, it's a topic that President Bush has put at the forefront of his health agenda for this year, and for which Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD (R, Tenn.), has promised to schedule action this month. At press time, it was unclear whether Republicans would have the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster if the bill does reach the floor.

The AMA laid out its worries in an April 24 letter to Enzi, focusing on the fact that the health plans created under the bill would be allowed to bypass state benefit mandates.