Universal Secure Access to Health Care Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1935
Sponsor: Sen. Corzine, Jon S. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2003-11-23 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Age
Auditing
Case management
Child health
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Commerce
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Discrimination in insurance
Discrimination in medical care
Dislocated workers
Drugs
Economics and Public Finance
Employee health benefits
Executive reorganization
Families
Federal aid to child health services
Federal aid to health facilities
Federal employees
Federal-state relations
Federally-guaranteed loans
Finance and Financial Sector
Fines (Penalties)
Government Operations and Politics
Government employees' health insurance
Government lending
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Government trust funds
Health information systems
Health insurance
Health insurance continuation
Income
Income tax
Indexing (Economic policy)
Insurance premiums
Interstate relations
Labor and Employment
Law
Local employees
Married people
Medicaid
Medical research
Medical screening
Medically uninsured
Medicare
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
Part-time employment
Payroll deductions
Poor children
Preventive medicine
Science, Technology, Communications
Self-employed
Small business
Social Welfare
State employees
Subsidies
Tax credits
Tax deductions
Tax exemption
Tax rates
Taxation
Telephone
Unemployment
Working poor

Summary:
action_date: 2003-11-23
text: 
Universal Secure Access to Health Care Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add a new title XXVIII (Universal Health Insurance Coverage). Requires each employer of at least 50 full-time employees to offer to enroll each of its employees and their families in a standard health benefit plan providing benefits for health care items and services that are actuarily equivalent to or greater in value than the benefits offered as of January 1, 2000, under the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Standard Option Plan provided under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP).
 
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Federal program to award grants to States for State premium assistance programs for low-income workers and small business employers. 
 
Authorizes a small business employer of at least 75 full-time employees to enroll its employees in an FEHBP plan or the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA) if such employees are at least 50 years of age. 
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a tax deduction for self-employed individuals equal to 100 percent of the amount paid during the taxable year for insurance which constitutes medical care for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, and the taxpayer's dependents. 
 
Amends SSA to add a new part D (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 62-to-65 Years of Age).
 
Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund for collected premiums and other revenues for use in funding the new part D program. 
 
Provides access to Medicare benefits for displaced workers 55 to 62 years of age.
 
Amends Federal civil service law to make FEHBP coverage available for the self-employed.
 
Establishes a MediKids Program under a new SSA title XXII to allow certain eligible individuals born after December 31, 2002, who have not attained age 23, to enroll for benefits specified by the Secretary, including early and periodic screening, diagnostic services, and treatment services under Medicaid (SSA title XIX), and prescription drugs and biologicals. 
 
Creates in the Treasury the MediKids Trust Fund for collected premiums and other revenues for use in funding the MediKids Program.
 
Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the membership of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, with the initial terms of additional members staggered.
 
Amends the IRC to: (1) impose a MediKids premium tax in the case of any taxpayer (with certain exceptions) required to pay a premium under the MediKids Program for an eligible individual; and (2) provide for a refundable tax credit for 50 percent of cost-sharing expenses under the MediKids Program.
 
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to propose a gradual schedule of progressive tax changes to fund the MediKids Program as the number of enrollees grows in the out-years.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-11-23
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S15653-15663)
action_date: 2003-11-23
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S15652-15653)
action_date: 2003-11-23
text: Introduced in Senate