HELENA (LEE)--The sponsor of a bill offering a tax credit to Montanans who buy their own individual health insurance said Monday he'd like to amend it so the credit applies only to low- and middle-income families.

In its present form, House Bill 801 offers the state income-tax credit to any Montana resident who buys health insurance for themselves and their family. The credit is 20 percent of the annual cost of the insurance.

Rep. Gary Maclaren, R-Victor, said Monday he'd like to have his bill amended back to an earlier form, which made the tax credit available only to those whose income is equal to or less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level.

For a family of four, that's just less than $31,000 a year. For a family of two, it's about $20,500.

The earlier version of Maclaren's bill also set the tax credit at 50 percent of the insurance cost.

Maclaren presented his bill Monday to the Senate Taxation Committee, its first hearing in the Senate.

He said he planned to prepare several sets of amendments for the panel to consider.

"This bill's intention is to enable people who have no insurance to go out and buy some," he told the committee.

Maclaren said many Montanans don't have access to health insurance through their job or can't afford it. HB801 could help some of those people buy insurance, he said.

Health insurers and the Montana Chamber of Commerce testified in favor of HB801, saying it could increase the number of people with health insurance and thus reduce the shifting of the cost of medical care from the uninsured to the insured.

HB801 is one of several bills before the session attempting to address Montana's high rate of people without health insurance. However, it's also one of the most costly bills in this area, and therefore could face an uphill political battle.

Maclaren told the panel he didn't yet know the cost of the latest version of HB801, which was amended substantially 10 days ago. Before those amendments, the bill had an estimated $56 million cost to the state treasury over the next two years.

No one spoke against the bill, but some committee members questioned whether the bill would have that much impact on the problem of the uninsured, and whether tax credits were a good approach to the problem.

Sen. Jim Elliott, D-Trout Creek, said HB801 is a state subsidization of health insurance for people, and asked "at what point do we eliminate the middleman, and start paying for it directly?"

Sen. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, pointed out that the tax credits would go toward people who already have individual insurance, and that those buying new insurance would have to pay premiums for many months before they saw any tax credit.

HB801 does not offer tax credits for those buying group health insurance or for Medicare supplemental insurance.

The Senate committee took no immediate action on the bill.

Daily legislative diary

By The Associated Press

Highlights from Monday at the 2007 Legislature:

- A plan to increase tax breaks for movies filmed in Montana moved out of a committee to the Senate floor. The move reversed an earlier decision by the Senate Taxation Committee to table the measure.

- The Senate rebuffed another attempt to move a bill that would establish a Liberty Day in Montana. Supporters say it would help schools teach children about the country's early constitutional history. Critics said it is not needed and duplicative of current curriculum and holidays.

- The House agreed with Senate changes to a bill that tightens the state's "proxy" marriage law that allows two nonresidents not present in the state to get a Montana marriage license. Critics said it was being abused by foreigners and others.

- A plan to set up a board that would eventually repay ranchers for livestock killed by wolves moved a step closer to law when the House agreed with some changes made by the Senate.