Asa Hutchinson: “As the Senator from Oklahoma very rightly said, this amendment provides 100-percent deductibility for the self-employed…”

“As the Senator from Oklahoma very rightly said, this amendment provides 100-percent deductibility for the self-employed beginning in January of next year, and accelerating that 100-percent deductibility, which the Senate has been on record in support of, is very germane and relevant to this bill. I think at the heart of this bill is the question of access. At the heart of this bill is, are we doing more damage than we are good? In our efforts to provide patient protection, are we increasing by millions the number who have no patient protections because they have no health insurance? That is, to me, a core fundamental question in this debate. I believe this amendment that I have offered with Senator Bond is a significant step--though far from all that is needed--in improving access. It is something we should do and indeed we must do. Sometimes, as we deal with the issue of liability, we forget exactly what kind of impact that liability will have. The President, in his statement of administration policy, really homed in on the impact of a wide-open lawsuit provision such as he believes and I believe exists in the Kennedy-McCain bill, what impact it would have on the uninsured. I think he cites very accurate numbers as to the millions of people who could well lose their health insurance were the Kennedy-McCain bill to pass as it currently exists.”