Thousands of Pennsylvania Children with No Health Insurance? Santorum Votes against Children Getting the Same Quality Insurance Taxpayers Provide to Him

Santorum's Words
“...the conservative solution to the problems of low-income America, is to structure all our programs around the family, to work with the family rather than against it.” It Takes a Family – pg. 46

“Rick has long been a supporter of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and introduced legislation in the United States Senate that will help make health insurance more affordable by creating refundable tax credits that can be used to purchase traditional insurance or HSAs.” www.ricksantorum.com – Record of Accomplishment – Health Care

Will Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) Provide Universal Health Insurance and the Highest Level of Care to Every Child?
While sounding nice, Health Savings Accounts could end up having harmful effects on children and families who most need health care services, and like most things Santorum supports, benefits the wealthy at the expense of others.

In last year’s budget vote (Roll Call Vote #363, S.1932, 12/21/2005, passed 50-50 with the Vice President casting the tie-breaking vote in favor), a demonstration program similar to what Santorum advocates for was established for 10 states.

According to the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, a low-income mother with two children who signs her family up for such an account could face up to $450 in out-of-pocket costs ($250 for herself and $100 for each child) if her account is depleted from having an accident or sick children. For many low-income families on Medicaid, such costs would deter them from securing needed care.

For states, these accounts could prove costly because they are likely to attract people with modest health care costs who could be cheaper to serve through the traditional Medicaid program. Also, “leftover” funds can be used by people even after they no longer qualify for Medicaid, which effectively means states can end up paying for health care for people who are ineligible for Medicaid.

Not only will Santorum’s plan for Health Savings Account fail to provide universal coverage, they will cost more than the current health care system:

• HSAs Won’t Reduce the Number of Americans without Health Insurance.
• The vast majority of uninsured Americans have low incomes
• Most uninsured Americans would be unable to save large amounts of money to put into HSAs
• The tax subsidy that supports HSAs is too small to reach people with low incomes
• HSAs Are Not an Effective Way to Control Costs.
• HSAs may induce consumers to skip necessary services, leading to higher costs in the long run
• Individual consumers have little ability to reduce provider costs
• Individual consumers cannot “comparison shop” for health care
• For many consumers, language barriers make shopping for care extremely difficult
• Increasing consumer exposure to health care costs will net little in cost savings
• HSAs Are Inequitable and Will Harm Many Consumers
• Racial and ethnic minorities suffer disproportionately from chronic conditions and are thus less likely to benefit from HSAs
• The HSA tax subsidy disproportionately rewards those who least need help
• HSAs may induce consumers to skip necessary health care services
• Rather than reduce overall costs, HSAs provide employers with a new way to pass cost increases on to workers
• As young and healthy employees switch to HSAs, health insurance will become too costly for older and less healthy employees:
• HSAs Are a Radical Threat to Our Current Health Insurance System
• HSAs threaten our nation’s existing health insurance system. The basic concept that underlies health insurance is the pooling together of many individuals’ risks in order to ensure that none are left unprotected from the costs of treating a catastrophic illness.
• Wealthier individuals are more likely to enroll in HSAs than others:
• Healthier individuals are more likely to enroll in HSAs:
• As wealthier and healthier individuals move into HSAs, traditional coverage will become more expensive
• HSAs drain valuable dollars from the health care system
• HSAs Create More Problems than They Solve
• HSAs do not solve the problems they were supposedly created to solve—the rising cost of health insurance and the growing number of uninsured. Instead, they place a strain on the consumers who can least afford, and most need, health insurance, while the rich and healthy benefit..

Click below to help spotlight Rick Santorum's record on child health care and what he has not gotten done in providing the best possible care to every child: