William Helms: “more than 80 percent of Americans younger than 65 are covered by health insurance, but if one of them changes jobs, or…”

“more than 80 percent of Americans younger than 65 are covered by health insurance, but if one of them changes jobs, or is laid off, he or she may be denied health insurance because of a preexisting problem, or because his health insurance cannot move with him or her. A genuine fear therefore exists that the security of health insurance could very well be lost. In fact, opinion polls show that as many as one-third of employees fear that if they switch jobs they will be unable to obtain new health insurance. The American people believe, and I agree, that they should be able to change jobs without losing their health insurance. Congress needs to insist that health insurance be made portable so that the fear of losing their health insurance should not plague the American people when they change or lose their jobs. This bill permits insured employees who leave one employer to be covered immediately upon taking another job that offers employees health insurance, regardless of their health status.”