John Kerry: “Today Senator Kennedy and I are introducing the Transitional Health Insurance Coverage for Workers Between Jobs Act.…”

“Today Senator Kennedy and I are introducing the Transitional Health Insurance Coverage for Workers Between Jobs Act. This bill would build on the recently passed Kennedy-Kassebaum health bill by providing funding to States in order to finance up to 6 months of health coverage for unemployed workers and their families. The Kennedy-Kassebaum bill was an important step toward assuring portability of health insurance coverage. More than 20 million people will benefit from that legislation and the senior Senator from Massachusetts deserves our thanks for his tireless efforts to achieve its passage. Unfortunately, however, although more people are now allowed to purchase health care coverage, many workers are still unable to afford this coverage. Those workers who have been laid off are most likely not to be able to obtain coverage. The bill we are introducing today would help temporarily unemployed workers to afford health coverage for themselves and their families. It would do so by providing Federal assistance to pay the premium for health insurance.”