Voters' Guide Gives Sen. Carnahan Failing Score; Sen. Gets 0 of 6 Votes that would Increase Access to Affordable Health Insurance

10/31/2002

From: Tom Gardner of The Council for Affordable Health Insurance, 703-836-6200 ext. 386

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 31 -- In October the Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI) released its "2002 Voters' Guide to Affordable Health Insurance." The guide includes six votes in the House and six in the Senate and is meant to inform voters of their Washington representatives' record on improving access to affordable health insurance. CAHI regrets to announce that Senator Carnahan of Missouri scored a zero.

"Senator Carnahan's voting record demonstrates that she opposes giving working families access to affordable health insurance. No wonder we have a health insurance crisis in America," said Dr. Merrill Matthews, director of CAHI. "Legislation that expands access to Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs), tax credits and high-risk pools increases access to affordable health insurance; legislation that imposes guaranteed issue, mandates and regulations or permits unlimited malpractice awards reduces access and increases the number of uninsured."

Matthews continued, "American voters remain largely uninformed about how legislation can affect the price and availability of health insurance. This guide will help educate the public as to how their elected representatives voted on key legislation that would improve or reduce access to affordable health insurance. We're very disappointed that Senator Carnahan voted no on every provision intended to help the uninsured and working families have access to the coverage they want and need."

CAHI's 2002 Voters' Guide is free and available online at http://www.cahi.org or by request. For more information or to schedule an interview with Dr. Matthews, contact Tom Gardner director of communications at tgardner@cahi.org.

CAHI is a research and advocacy association of insurance carriers active in the individual, small group, MSA, and senior markets. CAHI's membership includes health insurance companies, small businesses, physicians, actuaries, and insurance brokers. Since 1992, CAHI has been an advocate for market-oriented solutions such as MSAs to the problems in America's health care system.