COMMERCE
Subscriber Services
Classified Ads
Subscribe
Advertise
NEWS
This Month
Editorial
Letters
F/V Safety
Past Issues
ABOUT US
Contact Us
Latest Issue
Subscribe
History
MORE CONTENT
CFN Archives
Links
Each month exclusively in the PRINT edition of CFN
Along the Coast
Ask the Lobster Doc
Bearin’s
Classifieds
Coming Events
Editorial
Enforcement Report
FISH SAFE
Fleet Additions
Letters
Lobster Market Report
New Boats
News Catch
Quahog Market Report
|
Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 9
May 2008
Support fishermen’s health insurance bills
Right now, the fishing industry is in an extraordinary position to secure high-quality, affordable health insurance for fishing families across the nation. To make this happen, everyone involved in fishing and shoreside support businesses needs to ask their congressional representatives to co-sponsor or at least support the “Commercial Fishing Industry Health Care Coverage Act of 2008.”
Through the efforts of Commercial Fishermen of America, the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership, and the Fishing Partnership Health Plan (FPHP), powerful members of Congress have agreed to sponsor this legislation in both the House and the Senate.
US Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, and Labor, introduced the Senate version, S 2630, in February. Among the bill’s four co-sponsors is US Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).
US Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, which oversees insurance issues, sponsored the House version of the bill, H 5404. Among his nine co-sponsors is Don Young (R-AK).
The bipartisan, bicoastal nature of the support is a strong indication that the legislation actually has a good chance of passing, and it’s an indication of its value. Even fiscal conservatives understand that the $50 million appropriation associated with the legislation is anything but a handout. It is money well spent.
That’s because the FPHP of Massachusetts, which is the model for the legislation, has a 10-year track record of saving taxpayers and the US economy $4.15 for every dollar of federal funding invested in the plan.
That funding is used to reduce the cost of premiums on a sliding scale so that everyone with ties to the commercial fishing industry can afford to buy health insurance. And experience has shown that people with insurance go to the doctor, avoid some illnesses, and get help for others before they wind up requiring extremely expensive emergency room visits.
Anyone who feels uncomfortable with the idea of subsidized insurance needs to know that the typical health insurance plan available through most employers is also subsidized by the government to the tune of about $200 billion a year through tax breaks employers receive on the premiums they pay for employees.
The two identical bills now in Congress – S 2630 and H 5404 – do not provide for one-size-fits-all insurance. Instead, they provide grants to help states or fishing organizations design and operate plans best suited to their industry.
The people who have made this legislation a reality have a professional team of lobbyists explaining the details to lawmakers in Washington, DC. What they urgently need now is for constituents – meaning all of us – to write, call, e-mail, or visit their congressional representatives and ask for their support.
Commercial Fishermen of America has more information and a sample letter on its web site at <www.cfafish.org>. So does the FPHP at <www.fphp.org>. If you don’t know where to start, call the FPHP toll free at (866) 661-FPHP, and the folks there will tell you exactly how to proceed.
Lack of high-quality health insurance is as much of a hardship for fishermen as overly restrictive regulations and skyrocketing fuel prices. The difference is that now there’s a fix for the insurance problem, and fishermen have a real chance to make it happen. /cfn/
Back to story list
|
|
Tell us what you think.
