COVERAGE: This Uninsured Congressman Speaks Out

You may have heard about Rep. Steve Kagen, a Wisconsin allergist turned Democratic lawmaker who has spurned Congress's generous health coverage until all his constitutents can get health insurance too. Ivan Oransky, a writer who gets both science and health policy, has a good profile of Kagen at the Scientific American website:

Kagen, 58, is now one of millions of Americans, including at least nine million children, without health insurance. "I have absolutely no health coverage at all," he told ScientificAmerican.com during a recent interview. "I have no health conditions and am pretty darn healthy." And if he gets sick? "I'd be just like the 47 [million] to 50 million American citizens who don't have coverage," he says, "and I'd have to negotiate with hospitals and doctors for the best-priced coverage."

Kagen has introduced the "No Discrimination in Health Insurance Act of 2008" (H.R. 5449), which calls for "guaranteed issue"—insurers wouldn't be able to charge people who have been sick higher prices or refuse to cover them. "Nowhere in the Constitution does it say you have a protected right to health care," he said. "But the reverse is more important. You can't be discriminated against because of the color of your skin or your sex, nor because of diseases such as hypertension or diabetes."

He wants insurers to have to disclose all their rates, which he believes would help consumers make decisions and drive down prices by as much as 20 percent by stimulating more competition. He also argues for limits on deductibles. His legislation omits federal money for subsidies and the like—and that gap alone will make it a nonstarter for many lawmakers, although it is a welcome contribution to the dialogue.

So while we have some doubts about his numbers, we respect his insights and personal commitment. Not everyone in Congress is willing to put his own skin—not to mention bones and vital organs—in the game.