Health Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final regulation today that is estimated to save insured Americans up to $4.9 billion in cash rebates, lower premiums or increase benefits over the next three years.

Chairman George Miller this morning spoke to KGO Radio about incoming Speaker Boehner's pledge to repeal health insurance reform.  Rep. Boehner said today that "we have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill."  Rep. Miller said:

"[The GOP has] to understand that when they repeal health care, that senior citizens will pay more for prescription drugs, young people will lose their health care coverage, and once again, we'll have pre-existing conditions that keep women and children and others from getting access to health care when they need it.  And they're also going to have the problem that this health care bill, signed by President Obama, saves $100 billion in the first ten years and a trillion dollars in the second ten years.  So they're going to have to pay for those changes when they go back to their so-called common sense ideas.  The fact of the matter is this health care bill works."

Watch Rep. Miller's interview:

The Associated Press wrote today that the 111th Congress holds a “record of achievement unseen in years.” The report read:

“Not since the explosive years of the civil rights movement and the hard-fought debut of government-supported health care for the elderly and poor have so many big things -- love them or hate them -- been done so quickly.

“Gridlock? It may feel that way. But that's not the story of the 111th Congress -- not the story history will remember.”

The AP specifically referenced many of Chairman Miller’s achievements when listing important legislation Congressional Democrats have passed, including “a giant step toward universal [health care] coverage”, “an economic stimulus package… to avoid a full-blown depression”,  “making college loans more affordable” and “making it easier for women to challenge pay discrimination.”

Chairman Miller pledged in 2008 to keep the Education and Labor Committee focused on rebuilding and strengthening the middle class during the 111th Congress.

Yesterday, the Obama administration awarded grants to 49 states and the District of Columbia to help them design online health insurance exchanges.  The Los Angeles Times reported:

"These state-based exchanges, a key foundation of the new healthcare law, are to become the central Internet-based marketplace for consumers who do not get health benefits at work.

"By 2019, about 24 million Americans are expected to shop for coverage on the exchanges, choosing among health plans offering a variety of benefits that meet basic government standards."

Also yesterday, California Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a law creating a new exchange for that state. The Mercury News reported:

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made California the first state to create an insurance exchange under new federal health care reform as he ended the bill signing period Thursday by also approving bills addressing topics ranging from kindergarten to foster care."
...

"The state's landmark health care legislation sets up an oversight board for an insurance exchange that will let consumers comparison-shop for coverage. Other bills in the package bar insurers from denying coverage to children because of a pre-existing condition and let young adults stay on their parents' health care plans until they turn 26."

Chairman Miller applauded Gov. Schwarzenegger's action.

“'California families and small businesses are being crushed by health costs and dwindling benefits,' said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. 'The health exchange law signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger will ensure that insurance companies compete in an open and transparent marketplace, putting consumers in the driver’s seat, thereby driving down costs and making coverage more predictable.'"

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three California members of Congress, chairs responsible for health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, applauded California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature of legislation yesterday to create a new health insurance marketplace. California is the first state to begin implementation of a key element of historic health reform enacted in March. 

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services forcefully responded to critics of the Affordable Care Act in a Wall Street Journal op-ed today. She wrote:

“These critics seem to believe that any oversight of the insurance industry is too much, and that consumers would be better off in a system where they have few rights or protections.”

…

“The Affordable Care Act is bringing some basic fairness to our health insurance market. So when I learned that a handful of insurers around the country are blaming their significant rate increases on the new law—even though the facts show that the impact of the law on premiums is small, just 1% to 2% declining over time—I let them know that we'd be closely reviewing their rate hikes.

It’s understandable that some insurance companies and their allies don't welcome this change. They've made large profits from the status quo. And it's not surprising—though still disappointing—that House Republicans have recently pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act and get rid of these new consumer protections.

“If critics really want to go back to the days when insurance companies ran wild with no accountability, they should have the courage to say so openly instead of hiding behind distracting attacks. In the meantime, we're going to keep standing up for American families and small business owners who deserve a system that works for them.”

More information on the Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Major new patient protections will begin to take effect today under the Affordable Care Act, historic health reform law enacted this year. This new “Patient Bill of Rights” will ensure that insurance companies will no longer be able to cut off your insurance just because you are sick, set annual or lifetime caps on your coverage, or deny coverage to children with so-called pre-existing conditions.

President Obama spent the afternoon in a Falls Church, Va. backyard explaining the benefits of health care reform, including many changes that will go into effect tomorrow. The Washington Post reported:

“He highlighted some new reforms that take effect at the six-month mark Thursday, including new coverage for preventive care and young adults being able to stay on their parents' health care plans until age 26.

“‘I thank you from the bottom of my heart,’ one woman present, Norma Byrne of Vineland, N.J., told the president, explaining she was benefiting from the law's provisions that are closing the prescription drug coverage gap in Medicare.”

Today, the White House unveiled a new health reform website – whitehouse.gov/healthreform that features the stories of people across the nation who will benefit from the Affordable Care Act.

Individuals featured on the site include Jennifer from North Dakota whose 9 year-old daughter Allison has Mucopolysaccharidosis type I, a rare genetic disorder. Allison’s prescription drug costs were rapidly approaching Jennifer’s plan’s lifetime limit – leaving her unsure about how she could continue to pay for her daughter’s life-saving medication. Caps on lifetime benefits are banned under the Affordable Care Act.

Many Americans are confused about what the Affordable Care Act will mean for their families.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation produced a video to explain the new law.  The video, narrated by news commentator Cokie Roberts, explains problems with the current health care system, the changes that are happening now and changes coming in 2014.

Thursday is an important day for many Americans who have struggled to maintain health coverage. Major provisions of the Affordable Care Act go into effect on the 23rd that will help more citizens receive affordable care and protect against the worst insurance company abuses, like refusing coverage to children with preexisting conditions. CBS San Francisco interviewed Julie Waters, the mother of a toddler with severe epilepsy. In response to the impending reforms, Waters told CBS:

 “Violet can still see the doctor. Violet can still be in the hospital for two weeks if she needs to for them to stop her seizures. Violet is going to be ok because of this.”

The Contra Costa Times profiled Gino Romiti, who suffers from fibromyalgia, a condition that causes chronic pain:

“For 23-year-old Gino Romiti, Thursday will be a day to celebrate.

“Six months after passage of the federal health reform law, major provisions will kick in that supporters say will make it easier for Americans to get and keep health insurance, including young people like Romiti.

“Romiti has taken a semester off school and is working at a clothing store in Walnut Creek that does not provide health insurance. He has been on his father's policy, but would have soon lost that coverage because he is not a student.

“That will change beginning Thursday, however, when he and other young people can remain on their parents' policies up to age 26.”

View CBS San Francisco’s full report below, which includes footage of Chairman Miller’s recent press conference on the Affordable Care Act.

The Affordable Care Act puts Americans, not the health insurance companies, back in charge of their health care.  The Patient’s Bill of Rights in the Affordable Care Act will stop the worst insurance company abuses. 

On September 23, 2010, six months after the Affordable Care Act became law, critical new consumer protections in the Patient's Bill of Rights begin to take effect.:

For Plan Years Beginning On or After September 23, 2010, Privately-Insured Consumers Will Have The Following Protections:

Your health coverage cannot be arbitrarily canceled if you become sick.

Up until now, insurance companies had been able to retroactively cancel your policy when you became sick, if you or your employer had made an unintentional mistake on your paperwork.

Under the new law, health plans are now prohibited from rescinding coverage except in cases involving fraud or an intentional misrepresentation of facts. Due to pressure from Democrats in Congress and the Obama Administration, insurers agreed to begin implementing this protection early, this spring; so rescissions are now a thing of the past. This protection applies to all health plans.

"Approximately 10,700 people’s coverage, whose coverage is dropped each year because they get sick or make a technical mistake on their application, will be protected under the new law." (White House) 

Your child cannot be denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition.

Each year, thousands of children who were either born with or develop a costly medical condition are denied coverage by insurers. Research has shown that, compared to those with insurance, children who are uninsured are less likely to get critical preventive care including immunizations and well-baby checkups. That leaves them twice as likely to miss school and at much greater risk of hospitalization for avoidable conditions.

The new law prohibits insurance plans both from denying coverage and limiting benefits for children based on a pre-existing condition. This protection applies to all health plans, except “grandfathered” plans in the individual market. These protections will be extended to Americans of all ages starting in 2014.

"Up to 72,000 uninsured children are expected to gain coverage by banning insurers from refusing them coverage due to a pre-existing condition. Coverage for up to 90,000 children will no longer exclude benefits because of a pre-existing condition."  (White House) 

 
Young adults up to age 26 can stay on their parent's health plan.

Young people are the most likely to be uninsured – with currently one in three young people having no health coverage. One reason is that young people are less likely to be offered coverage through their jobs.

Under the new law, insurance companies are required to allow young people up to their 26th birthday to remain on their parents’ insurance plan, at the parent’s choice. This provision applies to all health plans. (For employer plans, only those young people not eligible for their own employer coverage receive the benefit, until 2014.) Learn more about the young adults insurance policy. 

"Up to 2.4 million young adults, up to 1.8 million who are uninsured and nearly 600,000 who purchase coverage in the individual market, could gain coverage through their parents." (White House)

Prohibition of lifetime limits.

Millions of Americans who suffer from costly medical conditions are in danger of having their health insurance coverage vanish when the costs of their treatment hit lifetime limits. These limits can cause the loss of coverage at the very moment when patients need it most. Over 100 million Americans have coverage that imposes such lifetime limits. The new law prohibits the use of lifetime limits in all health plans.

"Up to 20,400 people who typically hit their lifetime limits on the dollar amount that can be spent on coverage, along with the nearly 102 million enrollees who have policies with lifetime limits, will no longer have to worry about hitting their benefits caps." (White House)

 
Annual limits will be phased out over three years. 

Even more aggressive than lifetime limits are annual dollar limits on what an insurance company will pay for health care. Annual limits are less common than lifetime limits – but 19% of individual market plans and 14% of small employer plans currently use them.

The new law phases out the use of annual limits over the next three years. For plan years beginning on September 23, 2010, the minimum level for the annual limit will be set at $750,000. This minimum is raised to $1.25 million in a year and $2 million in two years. In 2014, all annual limits are prohibited. The protection applies to all plans, except “grandfathered” plans in the individual market.

"By 2013, up to 3,500 people will gain coverage as a result of the ban on annual limits that insurers impose on nearly 18 million people today." (White House)

Beginning September 23, 2010, Consumers Purchasing NEW Plans Will Have the Following Additional Protections:

You have the right to key preventive services without a deductible or co-payments.

Today, too many Americans do not get the high-quality preventive care they need to stay healthy, avoid or delay the onset of disease, and lead productive lives. Nationally, Americans use preventive services at about half the recommended rate.

Under the new law, insurance companies must cover recommended preventive services, including mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, and pre-natal and new baby care, without charging deductibles, co-payments or co-insurance. Learn more about preventive care benefits.

"Up to 88 million people will have access to preventive care with no out of pocket costs." (White House)

Right to both an internal and external appeal.

Today, if your health plan tells you it won’t cover a treatment your doctor recommends, or it refuses to pay the bill for your child’s last trip to the emergency room, you may not know where to turn. Most plans have a process that lets you appeal the decision within the plan through an “internal appeal” – but there’s no guarantee that the process will be swift and objective. Moreover, if you lose your internal appeal, you may not be able to ask for an “external appeal” to an independent reviewer.

The new law guarantees the right to an “internal appeal.” Also, insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage for needed care without a chance to appeal to an independent third party. Learn more about appealing health plan decisions.

"Up to 88 million people will benefit from the new appeals process provisions by 2013." (White House)

Right to choose your own doctor.

Being able to choose and keep your doctor is highly valued by Americans. Yet, insurance companies don’t always make it easy to see the provider you choose. One survey found that three-fourths of the OB-GYNs reported that patients needed to return to their primary care physicians for permission to get follow-up care.

The new law: 1) guarantees you get to choose your primary care doctor; 2) allows you to choose a pediatrician as your child’s primary care doctor; and 3) gives women the right to see an OB-GYN without having to obtain a referral first.

"Up to 88 million people will benefit from the provision that protects primary care provider choice by 2013." (White House)

You have the right to access to out-of-network emergency room care at in-network cost-sharing rates.

Many insurers charge unreasonably high cost-sharing for emergency care by an out-of-network provider. This can mean financial hardship if you get sick or injured when you are away from home.

The new law makes emergency services more accessible to consumers. Health plans will not be able to charge higher cost-sharing for emergency services that are obtained out of a plan’s network.

"Up to 88 million people will benefit from this provision." (White House)

Read more about the Act and find out what other changes are coming up.

The Medicare program is better protected from waste, fraud and abuse due to provisions of the Affordable Care Act. One of the fraud provisions in the law was inserted by Chairman Miller. Miller’s provision would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to hold the initial reimbursement to a new durable medical device supplier (for example, new suppliers of canes, crutches, and wheelchairs) for 90 days while she determines if there is a significant risk of fraud. In October, 60 Minutes highlighted the issue of unscrupulous durable medical device suppliers that use “phantom patients” to get paid by Medicare for medical supplies never purchased. This provision will give Medicare investigators the time they need to determine whether the business is legitimate.

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced steps it is taking to keep the Medicare program safe and secure. The Hill explained these new measures:

“Healthcare providers would be subject to new screening measures based on their level of risk to federal health programs, under new proposed regulations released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The fraud, waste and abuse prevention measures were called for in the new healthcare reform law.

“The screening measures include database and licensure checks, unscheduled or unannounced site visits, even criminal background checks and fingerprinting for the highest-risk providers and suppliers to Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. The proposed rule, which will be open for comment for 60 days, also establishes the criteria for six-month enrollment moratoriums to combat fraud and on payment suspensions during pending fraud investigations.”

…

“Improper payments cost federal health programs about $55 billion a year. The White House piggy-backed off the announcement to make the case that defunding healthcare reform, as some Republicans in Congress are advocating, would increase fraud.”

The White House applauded HHS’s work and reminded us all that these are among the reform provisions that congressional Republicans threaten to repeal:

“But if some opponents of health reform in Congress get their way, these common sense rules will be stopped dead in their tracks.

“Opponents are threatening to defund the Affordable Care Act, which would effectively handicap implementation and enforcement of these new rules that would help crack down on criminals and protect seniors.

“This is just one example of the consequences of defunding the Affordable Care Act and one of the many reasons why we can’t afford to roll back the new law. If opponents of reform get their way, new anti-fraud policies aren’t the only provisions that will be prevented from moving forward.”

The Census Bureau reported yesterday that 1 in 6 Americans did not have health coverage in 2009. That’s over 50 million people. This new statistic underscores the importance of the Affordable Care Act, which provides affordable care for all Americans and protects from the worst insurance company abuses – like denying coverage after a policyholder gets sick and setting lifetime limits on coverage. USA Today reported on the reasons for this rise:

“The reasons for the rise to 50.7 million, or 16.7%, from 46.3 million uninsured, or 15.4%, were many: workers losing their jobs in the recession, companies dropping employee health insurance benefits, families going without coverage to cut costs. Driving much of the increase, however, was the rising cost of medical care; a Kaiser Family Foundation report shows workers now pay 47% more than they did in 2005 for family health coverage, while employers pay 20% more.”

This report is a sobering reminder of why Democrats in Congress fought for the Affordable Care Act: the law will cover 32 million uninsured Americans while reducing the deficit and ensure that loss of employment no longer means the loss of health care coverage.

As mentioned yesterday, a provision of the Affordable Care Act banning lifetime limits on health care coverage goes into effect next week, on September 23rd.

A lifetime limit on coverage is a cap on how much an insurer will pay for any one policy.  When medical bills exceed this cap, which is often the case when a person is diagnosed with a serious or chronic illness, insurers can stick the patient with the rest of the bill. Over 90% of individual health insurance policies have lifetime benefit limits, but such practices will be prohibited under the health reform law. A recent NPR piece explained this important change:

“Among the new provisions of the health law that take effect later this month is a ban on something most people don't even know they have — a lifetime limit on benefits covered by their health insurance.

“Starting late next week, new health plans or plans that are renewed, won't be able to cap the dollar amount of benefits they cover. No more yearly caps either, though those limits will be phased out over three years, disappearing entirely in 2014.

“The change apply even to health plans that don't have to abide by some new rules because they were ‘grandfathered’ under the health law.”
…

“Until now, many people with expensive chronic conditions simply considered it their lot in life to have to change jobs every couple of years in order to maintain coverage.

“Take Edward Burke, of Palm Harbor, Florida. Burke, who has hemophilia, and has ‘capped out,’ as those with chronic conditions call it, twice in the past seven years. ‘I would have capped out four or five times,’ he says, but for the fact that the industry he works in, home health care, had been going through a series of mergers and acquisitions. So every time his company was bought and changed names, he was lucky enough to start with new health insurance — and a new lifetime limit.

“Burke estimates he spends about $900,000 per year on factor VIII, which replaces a clotting factor he lacks. That makes chewing through a lifetime limit of even several million dollars a matter of when, not if.”

As the ban on lifetime limits goes into effect for health plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010, people like Edward Burke will not have to struggle to maintain coverage any longer.

September 23rd marks the 6-month anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and the first day many important reforms go into effect. Beginning September 23rd, all new health plans will be prohibited from placing lifetime caps on coverage. This provision will be life-changing for one family profiled by Kaiser Health News and countless other families around the country. Kaiser reported:

“For many years, Ric and Jill Lathrop held their breath when the annual open enrollment period for their health insurance plan rolled around. Their two boys, now 12 and 14, have severe hemophilia, and each needs twice-weekly injections of a blood clotting replacement factor that costs roughly $250,000 per person per year. The couple lived in fear that their health plan would put a lifetime limit on their benefits.

“In 2005, that's what happened. The Oshkosh, Wis., hospital where Ric Lathrop worked as an MRI technician instituted a $2 million lifetime cap on benefits for the entire family. Rather than wait for their benefits to run out, the Lathrop family relocated to Illinois, where Ric Lathrop got a job at a hospital in Peoria; along with the job came insurance without lifetime limits.

“If that coverage had changed, the Lathrops might have had to move again . . . and maybe again. But the federal health-care overhaul makes further wandering unnecessary. Starting Sept. 23, the new law requires that when health plans renew their coverage for the coming year, they eliminate lifetime limits on coverage.

"It gives us a lot of reassurance to know our kids can have more freedom," says Jill Lathrop.”

Other provisions going into effect for all new plans and plan years beginning after Sept. 23 include:

• Requiring plans to allow young people up to their 26th birthday to remain on their parents’ insurance policy.
• Banning all health plans from dropping people from coverage when they get sick.
• Providing immediate access to insurance for Americans who are uninsured because of a pre‐existing condition. —This program is already in effect.
  

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will reduce health insurance costs for small businesses and increase coverage beginning this year, according to two reports released today.

Both a Commonwealth Fund report and an analysis by the RAND Corporation concluded that the new health reform law will help small business owners offer insurance because of tax credits and lower administrative costs of coverage available through a new insurance marketplace, the Exchange.

“The ACA will provide both immediate and long-term relief for millions of small businesses that have long struggled to provide health insurance to their workers and who are now coping with a severely weakened economy,” the Commonwealth Fund report concluded.

Small businesses often face difficulties in securing affordable coverage for their employees as the result of higher administrative costs and insufficient bargaining power as compared to larger companies. The RAND Corporation found that the new health reform law will increase the number of small businesses offering health insurance coverage “by aggregating employees of small firms into a single risk pool, exchanges will reduce year-to-year variance in premiums and may increase bargaining power and reduce administrative spending per enrollee.”

RAND estimates that that the percentage of workers receiving insurance through their job will increase from 84.6 percent to 94.6 percent once reform is fully implemented. The largest factor in this expansion is from more small businesses being able to offer coverage – rising from 60 percent to nearly 86 percent after reform.

According to the Commonwealth Fund, small businesses spend up to 18 percent more in premiums than larger firms do for the same insurance policy. In addition, when workers in small business have to shop for coverage themselves, nearly 70 percent of these workers give up because they found it difficult or impossible to navigate the individual market. More than 16 million employees work in small businesses will be eligible for a tax credit to provide health coverage over up to 2014 as the result of health reform law.

The Affordable Care Act provides specific benefits to assist small businesses and their workers to secure quality and affordable health insurance coverage. Beginning this year, many small businesses will be eligible for a tax credit for providing health coverage to their employees. When health reform comes into full effect in 2014, small businesses and their employees will be able to benefit from the creation of the health insurance exchange, a new marketplace that will help to drive down high administrative costs and end the worst insurance industry practices.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced today that nearly 2,000 employers and other organizations are eligible to receive crucial assistance to help them continue promised health coverage for early retirees, representing the first round of successful applications for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. Early retiree health plans for employers such as General Motors Co., General Electric Co., unions, state and local governments and universities are eligible for assistance contained in provisions of the new health reform law.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius conveyed the importance of the program:

“In these tough economic times, it is difficult for employers to keep up with skyrocketing health care costs for employees and retirees. Many Americans who retire before they are eligible for Medicare see their life savings disappear because of medical bills and exorbitant rates in the individual health insurance market… The Affordable Care Act’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will make it a little easier for employers to provide high-quality health benefits to their retirees as we work to put in place market reforms to lower costs for all.”

According to the Associated Press, “As medical costs soared in the last 20 years, employers have dramatically scaled back retiree health coverage. The share of large companies providing the benefit dropped from 66 percent in 1988 to 29 percent last year.”

The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will help maintain promised coverage of early retirees who are over 55, but not yet Medicare eligible, providing an important bridge to help control costs until health reform comes into full effect in 2014. Organizations eligible for the program will receive partial reimbursements for health care costs that rise between $15,000 and $90,000 for each individual in the plan. The reimbursements may be used to reduce premiums or hold down rising costs for employers.  

The eligible employers represent a cross-section of the American economy – from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses, local governments, union health plans, nonprofits and educational institutions from every state and the District of Columbia. HHS says that more applications to participate in the program are pending and new applications will be accepted. 

OMB Director Peter Orszag today writes about the long-term budget outlook released by the Congressional Budget Office.  Orszag points out the importance of the health insurance reform law to reducing the country's deficit, and the importance of implementing the law successfully:

"As I have often said, slowing the rate of health care cost growth is the single most important action we can take to reduce our long-term fiscal shortfall. The report confirms that the enactment and successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act is a key step toward a healthier fiscal future:

• First, CBO reiterates that the Affordable Care Act will reduce the deficit by more than $100 billion in the current decade and more than $1 trillion in the decade after that — which represents the most deficit reduction enacted since the 1990s.
• Second, the report demonstrates the importance of successfully implementing the Affordable Care Act.  The report includes a scenario in which a number of the Affordable Care Act’s cost-saving measures are curtailed by Congress at the end of this decade and, not surprisingly, not implementing the Act results in significantly higher deficits.  Historically, Congress has generally stood by its enacted health care savings — which is also what statutory Pay-As-You-Go requires and our fiscal trajectory demands.  Nonetheless, in showing the results of this backward step, the report highlights why the Affordable Care Act is such an important step forward."
  

An article by the AP in today's Los Angeles Times reports on a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The survey, taken before the Affordable Care Act became law found that individual health insurance premium hikes far exceed group plan hikes with the increases averaging 20% for individual coverage.

The AP says:

The nonprofit foundation, which is separate from health insurer Kaiser Permanente, said recent premium hikes for individual coverage averaged 20%. Some customers were able to switch plans and pay less so people paying on their own actually wound up paying 13% more on average.

That hike tops last year's average 5% annual increase for employer-sponsored family coverage and almost unchanged premiums for employer-sponsored single coverage, though foundation Vice President Gary Claxton said the comparisons come with qualifications.

The White House highlights the importance of reform on their blog:

The Affordable Care Act will help address this problem and strengthen the health insurance system for everyone. The law starts by helping to prevent unreasonable premium increases by requiring insurance companies to publicly justify unreasonable increases. Companies will also have to spend more of your premium dollars on medical claims, not salaries and overhead. If insurance companies raise rates too high between now and 2014, they could be excluded from the new health insurance exchanges and lose access to millions of new customers. And we are encouraging states to crack down on premium hikes and providing states with $250 million in grants to do so.

Learn what states are already doing to protect consumers against unjustified rate hikes.

Also, watch President Obama announce new benefits for consumers in a speech in the East Room at 11:45 AM ET.

If you have additional questions, send them to About.com and watch HHS Secretary Sebelius answer them today at 3:15 ET.

If the answer is "twenty-eight percent," what's the question?

Q1: What percentage of Americans will be insured under the new health insurance reform law?
Q2: How much can a one-percentage point difference in 401(k) fees reduce overall retirement income over a lifetime of saving?
Q3: What's the percent of Committee Members up for re-election in 2010?
Q4: How much has age discrimination increased?

Continue reading for the answer.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued a statement today after the Obama administration issued interim final regulations that will allow parents to keep eligible adult children on their health insurance policies up to age 26.  This provision, part of the new health insurance reform law, goes into effect for all insurance plan years beginning in September. Many insurers have also announced that they will comply with this part of the law earlier than required. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued a statement today on the announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that employers will be able to take advantage of a program to help them maintain early retiree health insurance coverage on June 1, weeks ahead of schedule.  The $5 billion temporary program, created as part of the new health insurance reform law, will provide an important backstop for employers who are facing skyrocketing costs for covering early retirees age 55 and over who are not eligible for Medicare. 

A New York Times' editorial today notes that the health care reform bill is already changing the behavior of the health insurance companies and that is a big win for consumers.

Americans are already starting to see the benefits of health care reform. The new law requires health insurance companies — starting in September — to end their most indefensible practice: rescinding coverage after a policyholder gets sick. In recent days insurers and their trade association have rushed to announce that they will end rescissions immediately.

That is very good news for the thousands of people who each year pay their premiums but lose their coverage just when they are likely to run up big medical bills.

...

The insurers were wise to short-circuit the criticisms and end rescissions now. This follows a recent agreement by many companies to start letting dependents stay on their parents’ policies until age 26, which isn’t required until September. Under pressure from the White House, the industry has also agreed to cover children with pre-existing medical conditions as soon as new rules are issued.

Many of the other major provisions of reform don’t kick in until 2014, but it is already changing the behavior of insurers. That means more security for many Americans who might otherwise find insurance unaffordable or unavailable.

Additionally, consumers in California in the individual market will see a reprieve of the 39% increase in their premiums by Anthem Blue Cross.

WellPoint Inc. said it would revise its request for steep rate hikes in California's individual market, after a state regulator said it found flaws in the company's application.

The proposed premium increases by the company's Anthem Blue Cross unit would have affected more than 700,000 consumers, who would have seen their rates go up by as much as 39%.

Learn more about the benefits of health insurance reform for you and your family.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Committee and Subcommittee Chairs from the House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor today sent a letter to the CEOs of seven insurance companies, most of whom last week announced they were allowing individuals up to age 26 to get coverage through their parents' health insurance, ahead of health reform legislation taking effect.

On this blog, we have highlighted many of the benefits to all Americans under the new health reform law. Today the New York Times joins in, highlighting another key change, free preventative care under new plans. The new health reform law requires new private plans to cover preventive services with no co‐payments and with preventive services being exempt from deductibles.

As the New York Times reports:

The new law also aims eventually to improve health insurance for everyone. By now you have probably read or heard about big changes like the rules that will require insurers to cover everyone who applies, regardless of health status, and forbid them from dropping people when they get sick.

You may not yet be aware, though, of another notable improvement to insurance, a change that could save a consumer or family hundreds of dollars a year. Under the new law, insurers must offer preventive services — like immunizations, cancer screenings and checkups — to consumers as part of the insurance policy, at no additional out-of-pocket charge.

The idea is that healthy Americans will be less costly Americans.

“This is transformative,” says Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit organization for large employers. “We’re moving from an insurance model that was based on treating illness and injury, to a model that’s focused on improving an individual’s health and identifying risk factors.”

The trend toward offering free preventive care has been gaining steam for a decade among large companies that provide employee health benefits. “Employers recognize that if they want to control costs, they have to persuade their workers to be healthier, including their children,” Ms. Darling said.

Three out of four large companies now offer free preventive health services to their workers, according to a 2009 survey by Mercer, a benefits consulting firm. Smaller employers, though, and individual health plans have been less likely to offer free care of any type.

Learn more about the new health reform law and how all Americans will benefit. Also, see this PDF for more information about preventing disease and improving the public's health.

This year, President Obama and a Democratic-led Congress have:

ALLOWED EXTENDED COVERAGE UNTIL AGE 26 THROUGH YOUR PARENTS: Reform allows you to stay on your parents’ health care plans until your 26th birthday (PDF). Between now and 2014, this only applies if your employer doesn’t offer you coverage. Beginning in 2014, it applies to all young people, even if you get insurance through your job. This will help to cover the one in three young adults who are uninsured.

LOWERED YOUR COSTS WITH FREE PREVENTATIVE CARE FOR BETTER HEALTH: Reform means free preventive care to all people insured under new plans (PDF), and invests in preventing illness and disease instead of just treating them when it’s too late and costs more. Simple prevention can stop a small health problem from getting worse as you get older.

GIVEN YOU NEW PATIENTS’ RIGHTS THAT SAVE YOU MONEY: This year, reform eliminates lifetime limits on how much insurance companies cover if you get sick, and tightly restricts yearly limits (PDF). In 2014, reform caps what insurance companies can force you to pay in co‐pays & deductibles, bans "gender rating" that allows women to be charged more for the same coverage, and bans new group plans from having eligibility requirements that have the effect of discriminating in favor of higher wage employees—who tend not be younger workers.

GIVEN YOU SECURITY THAT YOUR  HEALTH CARE IS NOT TIED TO A JOB: Reform means affordable health insurance is available to those without job‐based coverage, starting in 2014, and provides substantial premium assistance (PDF) to those who still can’t afford it. Young adults are just starting jobs and careers, and often don’t have access to job‐based coverage. Even when they do, they often can’t afford health insurance—or must endure a waiting period as a new employee.

ENSURE YOU HAVE HEALTH CARE WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST – WHEN YOU'RE SICK: You can no longer be dropped from your plan if you get sick. If you have a “pre‐existing condition,” beginning in 2014, you can no longer be denied coverage or charged higher rates (PDF) —and between now and 2014, you can enter an interim high‐risk pool to get insurance. This year, discrimination is banned for children under age 19 who have pre-existing conditions.

PROVIDED YOU A CHOICE OF COMPETITIVE PRICES AND PLANS: Reform creates Health Insurance Exchanges, or marketplaces (PDF), you can shop in if you don’t get insurance through your job. Starting in 2014, you get the benefits of group purchasing power like big businesses have.7

MADE IT EASY WITH ONE-STOP SHOPPING: Insurance "Exchanges" or marketplaces will allow you to simply and easily compare prices and health plans online (PDF) and choose what’s right for you. The typical young adult risks losing coverage when you change jobs, move, or hold a part‐time or temporary job. Under reform, it doesn’t matter.

PAID FOR REFORM SO YOUR GENERATION’S NOT STUCK WITH THE BILL: Health insurance reform is actually projected to lower the deficit by $1.3 trillion (PDF) over the next two decades. It lowers health care costs over the long term—so it makes sense it lowers the cost to taxpayers.

Yesterday was a milestone for students and taxpayers. President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 into law.

The Denver Post reports:

President Barack Obama signed into law the last piece of his mammoth plan to overhaul health care Tuesday and, with the same pen strokes, achieved a far-reaching change in the way most Americas help pay the cost of a college education.

Both the health care provisions and revamping the loan program for college students were sandwiched into a single piece of legislation — the budget-reconciliation bill approved last week by the House and Senate.

The San Francisco Chronicle summarizes how students and taxpayers benefit from these new student loan reforms.

President Obama signed important and welcome changes to the nation's campus loan program. The reforms should save the country billions and give more students a crack at a college degree.

Why it took so long is a minor scandal. Since the 1970s, federal money was doled out to banks to lend to students. In practice, though, the banks collected a healthy fee and fobbed off the bad loans to the government. It was a no-lose deal for these lenders.

But it endured, largely through fierce lobbying from lenders such as Sallie Mae. This year, the dam broke. The Senate and House voted to put Washington in charge of the loans, a shift estimated to save $68 billion over 10 years. That will allow loan limits to rise slightly, expand Pell Grants to defray tuition bills for needy students and invest $2 billion in community colleges.

But the changes didn't come easily, despite the sustained and gallant efforts of Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez.

Which is what made the signing ceremony all that more enjoyable. The Washington Post reported on the "ebullient mood" of the signing ceremony:

Pelosi vigorously clapped back at the crowd as camera flashes popped. When Obama later singled Pelosi out, calling her "amazing," the crowd jumped to its feet again. (Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) got a standing ovation, too).

Learn more about the reforms to federal student loans as well as the fixes to the health care reform legislation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today President Barack Obama signed into law legislation that makes key improvements to the historic health reform law enacted last week, and makes the single largest investment in college aid ever, at no additional cost to taxpayers. 

Yesterday, the House approved legislation that makes key improvements to the historic health reform law, and makes the single largest investment in college aid ever, at no additional cost to taxpayers.

The legislation makes health care even more affordable for the middle class, lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the “donut hole” over time, reduces the deficit and strips out special deals that favored one state over another. The bill also makes the most sweeping changes to our federal student loan program in a generation.

This morning, the Speaker of the House enrolled the bill. The package will now go to President Obama’s desk for his signature. Below are some photos of the enrollment ceremony as well as a few of a surprise birthday cake for Speaker Pelosi on her birthday.

Today, the House approved legislation that makes key improvements to the historic health reform law, and makes the single largest investment in college aid ever, at no additional cost to taxpayers. The package will now go to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

The legislation makes health care even more affordable for the middle class, lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the “donut hole” over time, reduces the deficit and strips out special deals that favored one state over another. The bill also makes the most sweeping changes to our federal student loan program in a generation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the House co-author of health insurance and student loan reforms, congratulated the Senate on passing an additional measure that improves the new health reform law and makes college dramatically more affordable. The House first passed this package on Sunday. Early this morning, the Senate made small technical changes to the bill. The House will vote later today to send this bill to President Obama for his signature. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the House co-author of both health insurance and student loan reforms, released the following statement after President Obama signed the health insurance reform bill into law. This week, the Senate will vote on a second measure that will make critical corrections and improvements to what the President signed and also make the single largest investment in federal student aid ever, at no cost to taxpayers.

The New York Times highlights the important of including the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act in the budget reconciliation package passed by the House last night to getting both health insurance reform and the federal student loan reform done.

The New York Times says:

Lots of Democrats can point to lots of different moments when they think the health care bill was brought back from the brink of collapse.

But for a number of senior House Democrats, the crucial turning point was a meeting the night of March 9 in the offices of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was supposed to be a strategy session with Senate Democratic leaders about the budget reconciliation procedure that Democrats were planning to use to make final changes to the health care bill and push them through the Senate on a simple majority vote.

Instead, the session focused entirely on the question of whether to include another of President Obama’s top legislative priorities — a sweeping overhaul of federal student loan programs — in the reconciliation package.

The budget resolution approved by Congress last spring provided for completing both major health care legislation and major education legislation through reconciliation, which adjusts federal policy to meet specific goals for reducing the deficit.

A trio of House leaders — Representatives James E. Clyburn, the Democratic whip; George Miller, the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee; and Xavier Becerra of California, the vice chairman of the Democratic caucus — argued strenuously in favor of including the education proposal.

...

Although overshadowed by the larger health care fight, the inclusion of the education bill may have been a decisive factor, especially at a time when House Democrats were exceedingly distrustful of their Senate colleagues and were essentially being forced against their better judgment to approve the Senate’s health care bill as the base law to which they would later make changes.

The student loan overhaul was very popular in the House. And because it would save tens of billions of taxpayer dollars by ending subsidies to private commercial banks, it offered a purely populist message at a time when public anger at Wall Street is running high and many liberals were disappointed that the health care bill would not include a public option, or government-run insurance plan.

Mr. Clyburn, who as the whip is the party’s main vote-counter, argued forcefully that the student loan measure would help generate support for the health care package.

...

For some Democrats, the student loan plan is the hidden triumph in the health care fight, and the late-night meeting earlier this month was the crucial moment. “It was an fascinating conversation about what the Democratic Party represented,” one Democrat said.

“Members of Congress have a clear choice,” Mr. Miller said in a floor speech on Sunday night. We can side with the American people by making health insurance and college more affordable and accessible, while creating millions of jobs and reducing the deficit. Or we can side with the insurance companies and the banks. That’s it. That’s the choice. I’m siding with the American people.”

Learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

For the first time in America’s history, all Americans will have access to quality, affordable health care under a final package of health insurance reforms passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today. The legislation will protect Americans from the worst insurance industry practices, offer the uninsured and small businesses the opportunity to obtain affordable health care plans, cover 32 million uninsured Americans, all while reducing the deficit by $143 billion over the next decade and more than a trillion dollars over 20 years. The House approved the measure by a vote of 220 to 211.

The health insurance reform package combines the best ideas from all sides of the debate, capping a year-long transparent legislative effort.  It delivers on President Obama’s key goals for health reform of slowing the growth of health costs, creating competition in the health insurance marketplace, and keeping insurers honest. It will protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and guarantee that every American can access quality, stable, and affordable health insurance coverage. It will rein-in the worst insurance company abuses, such as discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, policy rescissions when patients are in the middle of treatment, or insurance rate hikes without justification. Many of these protections kick in immediately; see a complete list here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) secured a provision in the health insurance reform legislation that will help to combat medical device fraud which costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year. In October, 60 Minutes highlighted the issue of unscrupulous durable medical device suppliers that use phantom patients to get paid by Medicare for medical supplies never purchased.

“These con artists are stealing from the American taxpayer and putting Medicare’s future in danger,” said Rep. Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Health insurance reform passed today will take a big step to ensure these billions of dollars go to improve the health of our seniors and not into the pockets of criminals.”

Below is a copy of U.S. Rep. George Miller’s (D-CA) remarks, as prepared for delivery, during floor debate on the health insurance and student loan reform legislation. Miller is the House author of both pieces of reform.


Madame Speaker, I rise in support of this truly historic legislation that addresses two of America’s greatest troubles – the crushing costs and high obstacles of obtaining both quality health care and a college education.

Our nation and its economy have suffered from our longstanding failure to make health care and college accessible and affordable to all of the American people.

Americans have waited a long time for health insurance reform – nearly 100 years.

Today, Congress and President Obama will deliver on a central promise, on a dream deferred, on a crucial demand. 

The House will consider a bill to reform both health insurance and student loans today, March 21.  The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, a landmark measure to make college more affordable and create jobs that stay in the U.S. at no cost to taxpayers, is included in historic health care legislation.  The health insurance reform measure achieves the three key goals of affordability for the middle class, accessibility for all Americans, and accountability for the insurance industry.

For the first time in America’s history, all Americans will have access to quality, affordable health care under a final package of health insurance reforms signed into law on March 23, 2010 and March 30, 2010. The law will protect Americans from the worst insurance industry practices, offer the uninsured and small businesses the opportunity to obtain affordable health care plans, cover 32 million uninsured Americans, all while reducing the deficit by $143 billion over the next decade and more than a trillion dollars over 20 years.

Visit the White House's health reform page for updated health care news, stories from people across the country who are benefiting from the new law, and more information about the law.


How Will Health Insurance Reform Affect You?

Benefits Going Into Effect on September 23, 2010 »
Immediate Benefits »
Guaranteed Benefits »
Estimated Savings for Families Who Are Now on the Individual Market »
Health Reform Q&A »
Insurance Market Reforms That Protect Consumers »
Preventing Disease and Improving the Public's Health »
District-by-District Impact »

Health Insurance Reform: A Guide for Seniors »
America's Women Have the Most to Gain »
What's In It for Young Americans? »
8 Great Ways Student Aid and Health Reform Works for You »
Small Business Guide »
Helping Small Businesses »
Employers and Health Reform »
Rural America »

Provisions of the Affordable Care Act at a Glance:

Timeline for Implementation »
Making Coverage Affordable »
Paying for Health Insurance Reform »
Health Insurance Exchange »
Strengthening the Nation's Health Workforce »
Strengthening Medicare »
Medicare Part D »
Curbing Taxpayer Subsidies for Private Insurers in Medicare »
Maintaining and Improving Medicaid »
Shared Responsibility »
Summary of Revenue Provisions »
Preventing Waste, Fraud and Abuse »
Addressing Health and Health Care Disparities »
Innovative Delivery System Reform »
Cost Containment »

Why Health Insurance Reform?

The Cost of Inaction »
Health Care by the Numbers »

Supporters:

SUPPORTERS OF HEALTH REFORM LEGISLATION »

Bill Text:

Reconciliation Bill Text »
Manager's Amendment »
Text of the Senate Amendments to H.R. 3590 (Senate health bill) »

CBO Score:

Four Key Points You Need To Know About the NEW (3.20.10) CBO Score »
Full NEW CBO Score (3.20.10) »

Summary Documents:

Summary of Manager's Amendment to H.R. 4872 »
Summary of the bill »
Fact Sheet »
Section by Section of the Reconciliation Bill »
Reconciliation Bill Makes Key Improvements To Senate-passed Bill »
Regular Procedure to Pass Health Insurance Reform »
Open, Transparent Health Reform Debate »

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, leaders of the Committees with jurisdiction over health policy, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin (D-MI), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), issued the following joint statement upon introduction of comprehensive health reform legislation:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A landmark measure to make college more affordable and create jobs that stay in the U.S. at no cost to taxpayers will be included in the historic health care legislation scheduled for an upcoming vote in Congress, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced today.  The measure represents the single largest investment in federal student aid in history, and includes many of President Obama’s key education initiatives.

Chairman George Miller wrote two op-eds today about how the reforms to federal student loans fits well with the budget reconciliation and health insurance reform package being considered in Congress.

In the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Chairman Miller said:

If Congress makes the right call this week, students and taxpayers will win out.

In the coming days, the House and Senate will take a critical up or down vote on historic health insurance reforms. Tied to them will be the most significant reform of our federal student loan program in a generation. It will make federal aid more effective and cost-efficient for students, families, and taxpayers, without increasing the deficit.

Congress should support both measures.

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Rep. Miller wrote:

Our bill is good for taxpayers. It would eliminate these needless subsidies and instead have the government initiate student loans, as it does today, and private banks service them. Consider that the government now funds 88 percent of all federal student loan volume. There's simply no reason to keep giving banks a handout.

Our bill is good for students. The federal government has already proved to be a more reliable lender for students in the midst of economic instability. All of the savings generated from switching to direct lending will go to help students pay for college and reduce our deficit.

Our bill is good for jobs. It would preserve private-sector jobs by allowing banks to compete for loan servicing contracts - and could even bring overseas jobs back home. Unlike loans made by banks, direct government loans must be serviced by U.S. workers.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – News reports this afternoon indicate that Senate leaders are leaning toward including student loan reforms along with health insurance reform as part of one reconciliation package – a move that would allow Congress to take an up or down vote on legislation that would invest tens of billions of dollars in students instead of banks, without costing taxpayers a dime.

Education and Labor Committee Member Rep. Phil Hare: 
“Republicans had over a decade to improve health care. And what did they give us? One of the worst pieces of legislation to ever pass Congress—a bailout for the drug companies that increased the deficit and left millions of seniors trapped in a doughnut hole paying more than ever for their prescriptions.  Enough is enough. It is time for an up or down vote on health care reform that lowers costs and premiums, reduces the number of uninsured, and requires insurance companies to play by the rules.”

More House Democrats speak out about Congressional Republican failure to act on health insurance reform

Today's New York Times editorial asks, "what happens if Congress fails to enact legislation. Are [Americans] really satisfied with the status quo? And is the status quo really sustainable?"

It ends with:

If reform is defeated, it seems likely that most of the proposed experiments designed to cut costs — first within Medicare and then throughout the rest of the health care system — will die as well. The legislation needs to be passed to establish a structure to force continuing improvement over the years. That is the best chance of restraining soaring medical costs that threaten the solvency of families, businesses and the federal government.

Any change as big as this is bound to cause anxiety. Republicans have happily fanned those fears with talk of “dangerous experiments” on the “best health care system in the world.” The fact is that the health care system is broken for far too many Americans. And the country cannot afford the status quo.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement today on President Obama’s remarks on moving forward on health insurance reform. Miller is the chairman of one of the three committees that developed the House health reform bill and participated in the President’s bipartisan summit last week. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement today on President Obama’s bipartisan health insurance reform summit. Miller, who chairs one of the three committees that developed the House health reform bill, participated in the summit and spoke on the vital need to reform the way insurance companies treat their customers. 

(The fourth topic of today's bipartisan White House health insurance reform meeting is  expanding health insurance coverage.)

Democrats are committed to providing health security to America’s families by guaranteeing everyone access to affordable, quality health insurance.  

No one should be forced into bankruptcy because of an illness.  Unfortunately, millions of Americans live in fear of just that while they are forced to go without health insurance because they don’t have access to affordable coverage either through their workplace or because of pre-existing conditions or age which make coverage unaffordable.  Millions more have coverage that fails to meet their needs when they need care.

The President's Proposal Expands Coverage. 

The plan provides coverage for 95% of all Americans – expanding health insurance coverage to over 31 million more Americans. It:

• Provides financial credits to make premiums and cost sharing more affordable for those who today simply cannot afford coverage and care.
• Expands Medicaid to cover those with the lowest income.
• Eliminates job lock and support a more mobile economy and entrepreneurship by ensuring continuous access to comprehensive, affordable coverage regardless of where you work or live, and regardless of your age and health status.
• Enacts real insurance reforms that will allow more people access to insurance and force insurance companies to compete on cost and quality rather than their current strategy of cherry picking only the healthy and young.
• Establishes shared responsibility among individuals, employers and the government so that all contribute to and benefit from a new system that guarantees quality, affordable coverage for all.
  

The President's Proposal Provides Options that Meet Individual Needs.

• Creates a new health insurance marketplace, called an Exchange, that will allow consumers to choose a health insurance plan that best meets their needs.  Ensures everyone has a place to access health care, including when they lose a job, as they age, or get sick.
• Requires insurers to cover essential benefits, including prevention and well child care, so that people know insurance will cover the items and services they need.
• Protects and improves Medicare by filling fill the Republican Medicare prescription drug donut hole, so that seniors will no longer be forced to pay the full cost of their medications during the current coverage gap.  And it makes additional improvements to Medicare to encourage the efficient delivery of high quality, well-coordinated care, eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, and extend Medicare solvency by more than nine years.
  

These expansions in coverage benefit everyone. Today, every family that has insurance is paying an extra $1,000 in premiums to cover the costs of the uninsured.  Covering everyone is not only the right thing to do, it is an economic imperative to help lower all of our premiums.

(The third topic of today's bipartisan White House health insurance reform meeting is deficit reduction.)

Democratic health reform proposals will not add to the deficit – not one dime – now or in the future. In fact, the health reform plans passed by each chamber and proposed by the President actually reduce the deficit over the next 10 years and in the following decade.

The American people want reform – and they expect Congress to make hard choices to honestly pay for that reform and not just borrow the money.  We’ve done that by:

• Focusing spending on the highest needs;
• Ensuring that the reforms contain substantial proposals to reform care delivery and winnow fat from the system, while expanding access and care coordination; that includes payments to reward high quality care in Medicare, while improving benefits;
• Limiting growth in health spending;  and
• Identifying appropriate revenues to finance the remaining costs.
  

The bottom line is that Democratic health reform proposals actually reduce the deficit in the next ten years by more than $100 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office – and do so even after expanding coverage to approximately 95 percent of all Americans.

More significantly, CBO notes that, after 2020 – when we need deficit reduction the most – health reform as envisioned by the President will reduce the deficit even further.

• In the decade after 2019, CBO projects that health reform reduces the deficit by as much as one-half of one percent of the national economy.
• That means deficit reduction of up to one trillion dollars or more.

(The second topic of today's bipartisan White House health insurance reform meeting is  insurance reforms.)

President Obama's proposal includes health insurance market reforms that will bring immediate benefits to millions of Americans, including those who currently have coverage.
 
Access to Affordable Coverage for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions

• The President's proposal will provide $5 billion in immediate federal support for a new program to provide affordable coverage to uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions. This provision is effective 90 days after enactment, and coverage under this program will continue until new Exchanges are operational in 2014.

Access to Quality Care for Vulnerable Populations

• The President's proposal makes an immediate and substantial investment in Community Health Centers to provide the funding needed to expand access to health care in communities where it is needed most. This $11 billion investment begins in 2010 and extends for five years.

No Pre-existing Coverage Exclusions for Children

• The President's proposal eliminates pre-existing condition exclusions for all Americans beginning in 2014, when the Exchanges are operational. Recognizing the special vulnerability of children, the plan prohibits health insurers from excluding coverage of pre-existing conditions for children, effective six months after enactment and applying to all new plans.

Re-insurance for Retiree Health Benefit Plans

• The President's proposal will create immediate access to re-insurance for employer health plans providing coverage for early retirees, effective 90 days after enactment. This re-insurance will help protect coverage while reducing premiums for employers and retirees.

Closing the Coverage Gap in the Medicare (Part D) Drug Benefit

• The President's proposal begins to fill the “donut hole” by giving seniors a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who hit the donut hole in 2010.

Small Business Tax Credits

• The President's proposal will offer tax credits to small businesses beginning in 2010 to make employee coverage more affordable.
• Tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums will be immediately available to firms that choose to offer coverage; later, when Exchanges are operational, tax credits will be up to 50 percent of premiums. The full credit will be available to firms with 10 or fewer employees with average annual wages of $25,000, while firms with up to 25 or fewer employees and average annual wages of up to $50,000 will also be eligible for the credit.
  

Ensuring Value for Premium Payments

• The President's proposal will establish standards for insurance overhead and require public disclosure to ensure that enrollees get value for their premium dollars. The Managers’ Amendment tightened these standards, requiring plans in the individual and small group market to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on clinical services and quality activities, and 85 percent for plans in the large group market. Health insurance plans that do not meet these thresholds will provide rebates to their policyholders. This provision takes effect in 2011 and applies to all plans, including grandfathered plans, with the exception of self-insured plans.

Patient Protections

• The President's proposal protects patients’ choice of doctors by allowing plan members to pick any participating primary care provider, prohibiting insurers from requiring prior authorization before and woman sees an ob-gyn, and ensuring access to emergency care. This provision takes effect six months after enactment and applies to all new plans.

Extension of Dependent Coverage for Young Adults

• The President's proposal will require insurers to permit children to stay on family policies until age 26. This provision takes effect six months after enactment and applies to all plans for young adults who are not offered qualified coverage elsewhere. 

Free Prevention Benefits

• The President's proposal will require coverage of prevention and wellness benefits and exempt these benefits from deductibles and other cost-sharing requirements in public and private insurance coverage. This provision takes effect six months after enactment and applies to all new plans and all plans in 2018.
• Beginning on January 1, 2011, Medicare beneficiaries will receive a free, annual wellness visit and will have all cost-sharing waived for prevention services.
  

No Lifetime Limits on Coverage

• The President's proposal will prohibit insurers from imposing lifetime limits on benefits. This provision takes effect six months after enactment and applies to all plans.

Restricted Annual Limits on Coverage

• The President's proposal will tightly restrict insurance companies’ use of annual limits to ensure access to needed care, effective six months after enactment for all new health plans. These tight restrictions will be defined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. When the Exchanges are operational, the use of annual limits will be banned for all plans in 2014.

Protection from Rescissions of Existing Coverage

• The President's proposal will stop insurers from rescinding insurance when claims are filed, except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of material fact. This provision takes effect six months after enactment and applies to all plans.

Prohibits Discrimination Based on Salary

• The President's proposal will prohibit group health plans from establishing any eligibility rules for health care coverage that have the effect of discriminating in favor of higher wage employees. This provision takes effect six months after enactment and applies to all group health plans in 2014.

Public Access to Comparable Information on Insurance Options
 

• The President's proposal will enable creation of a new website to provide information on and facilitate informed consumer choice of insurance options.

Health Insurance Consumer Information

• The President's proposal will provide assistance to States in establishing offices of health insurance consumer assistance or health insurance ombudsman programs to assist individuals with the filing of complaints and appeals, enrollment in a health plan, and, eventually, to assist consumers with resolving problems with tax credit eligibility. This provision is effective beginning with fiscal year 2010.

(The second topic of today's bipartisan White House health insurance reform meeting is  insurance reforms.)

President Obama's proposal includes health insurance market reforms that will bring immediate benefits to millions of Americans, including those who currently have coverage.
 

• Access to Affordable Coverage for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions
• Access to Quality Care for Vulnerable Populations 
• No Pre-existing Coverage Exclusions for Children 
• Re-insurance for Retiree Health Benefit Plans 
• Closing the Coverage Gap in the Medicare (Part D) Drug Benefit 
• Small Business Tax Credits 
• Ensuring Value for Premium Payments 
• Patient Protections 
• Extension of Dependent Coverage for Young Adults 
• Free Prevention Benefits 
• No Lifetime Limits on Coverage 
• Restricted Annual Limits on Coverage 
• Protection from Rescissions of Existing Coverage 
• Prohibits Discrimination Based on Salary 
• Public Access to Comparable Information on Insurance Options 
• Health Insurance Consumer Information 

(Read more about each of these immediate benefits.)


President's Proposal Reforms America's Broken Insurance System

• Beginning in 2014, annual limits and restrictions on pre-existing conditions and other decision-making based on health status would be banned. Meaningful health reform absolutely requires that pre-existing condition exclusions be outlawed – Americans should be able to get coverage regardless of their health conditions.
• Lifetime caps on benefits would be banned immediately.
• Young adults could stay on their parent’s insurance until age 26.
• Limitations are placed on insurers rating based on age and illness.
• Insurers must cover lifesaving preventative benefits and eliminate the cost sharing when accessing these benefits. 
• Administrative simplification requirements significantly reduce the red tape, and thereby reduce cost.
• Appeals standards are created to protect consumers. 
• HHS and the states would immediately begin to review and if necessary disapprove insurance company premium increases.
• In 2014, Health Insurance Exchanges are created that provide the opportunity for people to comparison shop for coverage that meets their needs.  The Exchanges can negotiate with insurers to protect consumers and ensure that they get the most value for their dollars.  Plans in these exchanges will be required to cover an essential benefits package and meet consumer protection requirements.  
  

 
Why Insurance Reforms Are Needed

Insurance Companies Fail to Cover Millions of Americans

• 56 million Americans who currently have insurance are subject to pre-existing condition restrictions that limit their insurance coverage because of their health history
• Almost 13 million individuals were denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions in the previous three years
• More than 1/3 of individuals seeking insurance are denied, charged higher premiums or offered limited coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
• Almost any condition can be considered a pre-existing condition – Blue Shield of CA considers adoption, AIDS, anemia, arthritis, back sprain, breast implants, cleft palate, infertility treatments, kidney stones, pregnancy, sleep apnea, ulcers, and varicose veins as possible pre-existing conditions.
• Young adults are the largest group of the uninsured in the U.S – more than one in four Americans (13 million) between the ages of 18-26 are uninsured, representing 30 percent of the uninsured.
• More than half of Americans in employer-sponsored coverage (approximately 90 million) are subject to an annual or lifetime limit.  As a result of meeting a lifetime limit cap, approximately 20,000 to 25,000 people with employer-sponsored plans were effectively uncovered and de facto uninsured in 2009.
  

Insurance Company Premiums and Profits are Sky-Rocketing

• The combined profits for the top five insurance companies -- UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc., Aetna Inc., Humana Inc., and Cigna Corp. -- hit new highs in 2009 – $12.2 billion in 2009, an increase of $4.4 billion or 56 percent from 2008, with Cigna Corp. reporting a profit increase of 346 percent.   Yet 2.7 million Americans lost their private health insurance in 2009, with four of the five companies showing losses in private enrollment.
• Profits for the ten largest insurance companies increased 250 percent between 2000 and 2009, ten times faster than inflation. 
• Anthem Blue Cross of California recently tried to increase individual market premiums by up to 39 percent.  Anthem of Connecticut is requesting an increase of 24 percent and Anthem of Maine has requested 23 percent premium increases.  In addition, Blue Cross of Michigan has requested a premium increase of up to 56 percent and Blue Cross of Oregon has requested a 20 percent premium increase.
  

 

(The first topic in today's bipartisan White House health insurance reform meeting is cost containment.)

Ever-rising health costs put a strain on all American families.  The President’s proposal takes enormous strides to contain costs.

The President's proposal takes on the private insurers and stop company abuses.  Starting this year it would:

• Require insurers to disclose and justify their premium increases
• Require them to actually pay out more of your premium dollar in health benefits instead of using those funds for administration, executive compensation and profits
• And when reform is fully implemented, insurers whose rates have gone up too much can be limited from participating in the new coverage arrangements.
  

The President's proposal strengthens Medicare and extends the program’s solvency by more than nine years by:

• Attacking fraud, abuse and waste in an unprecedented fashion
• Simplifying the bewildering array of insurance paperwork that patients, doctors and nurses have to deal with
• Developing innovative payment systems that will “bend the curve” by rewarding the efficient delivery of high quality, well coordinated, care.   
• And at the same time – improving – not cutting – benefits – in particular, filling the “donut hole” in Medicare drug benefits and ensuring continued access to the doctors that seniors know and trust.  
  

Finally, the President's proposal would help make care more affordable by:

• Providing subsidies for premiums and cost sharing for those who can least afford coverage
• Requiring insurers to limit annual and lifetime expenses for those who need care the most
• Setting up exchanges where plans have to compete for business on price and quality, rather than simply cherry picking healthy people in order to turn a profit. 

Today, February 25, at 10 a.m. Eastern time, Chairman Miller and House leadership attended an open bipartisan meeting at the White House to discuss Republican and Democratic ideas for making our health care system work better for the American people. 

The purpose of today's meeting was to have an open exchange about the best ideas for reforming our health care system, and to do it in a way that lets the American people observe and have confidence in the process. At the end of the day, the American people expect us to move forward. And we will.

The urgency of reform couldn’t be more clear: just this month, a major health insurer informed customers in California that they could see their premiums rise by as much as 39 percent this year.

The President’s proposal, designed to bridge the difference between the House and the Senate bills and informed by discussions with the House and Senate, puts American families and small business owners in control of their own health care and begins to give them the health care security they’ve been losing over the past 16 years.

• It makes insurance more affordable by providing one of the largest tax cuts for health care in history – reducing premium costs and helping over 31 million Americans afford health care.
• It sets up a new competitive health insurance market -- giving millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress have.
  
• It brings greater accountability by laying out commonsense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.
  
• It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.
  
• It reduces the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

This proposal makes three specific changes to the bill passed by the Senate:

• It eliminates several “special deals” including the arrangement made for Nebraska;
  
• It includes a series of measures proposed by Republicans to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse;
  
• It includes a new provision to prevent arbitrary rate hikes like the recent 39 percent increase in California.
  

First Discussion Topic: Cost Containment
Second Discussion Topic: Insurance Reform
Third Discussion Topic: Deficit Reduction
Fourth Discussion Topic: Expanding Coverage

Rep. Rob Andrews was on Fox News this morning talking about the health care summit at the White House tomorrow.

Updated: The Speaker's Office has a new post about the latest Kaiser tracking poll that shows Americans Continue To Support Health Insurance Reform.

The Washington Post compared the President's health insurance reform proposal to recent polls and found that the American people support, sometimes overwhelmingly, the provisions in the proposal.

Quoted in it's entirety below (links and emphasis in the original):

This week the Committee has two hearings scheduled:

• "Reducing the Growing Backlog of Contested Mine Safety Cases," on Tuesday, February 23.
• "H.R. 4330, the All Students Achieving through Reform Act of 2009," on Wednesday, February 24.
  

Chairman Miller and House leaders will also continue to work on health insurance reform, attending the bipartisan White House summit on Thursday, February 25.

The USA Today and New York Times both highlight how the status quo is unacceptable in our health insurance system.Costs are rising at double-digit rates and eating into workers' wages. Doing nothing would mean family budgets crippled, businesses falling behind and state and federal governments going broke. But that doesn't have to be the case. The Affordable Health Care for America Act ensures affordability for the middle class, accountability for insurance companies, and accessibility for all Americans.

As the USA Today says:

The purpose of insurance is to spread risk as widely as possible, at the lowest cost for everyone in the insurance pool. That's exactly what health bills currently stalled in Congress would do by requiring everyone to buy coverage, and helping lower-income people afford the premiums. Costs would be stabilized; everyone would be protected.

In exchange for millions of new customers, insurance companies agreed to quit doing many of the things that make people hate them, such as refusing to cover people with pre-existing conditions and limiting coverage in ways that can bankrupt people when they become seriously ill. Having a larger, more stable group of customers would also reduce the need for abrupt and massive premium hikes.

Health reform legislation would also set up online exchanges where individuals and small businesses could buy policies. The medical insurance market would become more competitive: Companies couldn't turn applicants down, so it would be easier to jump to a different insurer if one hiked rates exorbitantly.

Further, the measures would require insurers to spend at least 80% of their premium income on paying claims, instead of on administrative and marketing costs. California's requirement is now 70%.

Learn more about the health insurance reform bills before Congress and how they will improve Americans access to affordable health care and increase accountability for health insurance companies.

The Los Angeles Times ran an editorial this morning highlighting the massive increases in premiums for Anthem Blue Cross' customers. They say Anthem Blue Cross' actions offer the best argument yet for Congress to complete work on a comprehensive health insurance reform bill.

In the editorial entitled, Reform, meet Anthem Blue Cross, they say:

Anthem's official explanation for the hikes is that rapid increases in the cost of treatments and greater demand for healthcare services are driving up expenses at an "unprecedented" rate. It also asserts that the recession has prompted many healthy people to give up their insurance, leaving fewer policyholders to cover the cost of caring for a sicklier group. Those are valid complaints, but they don't automatically justify jacking rates up to the roof. In fact, Anthem's rate increases are contributing to the problem by pricing younger, healthier people out of the market for individual policies.

Chief Executive Angela Braly of WellPoint Inc., Anthem's parent company, told the Wall Street Journal that lawmakers should find more effective ways to prod healthy people to buy insurance, promote competition among health care providers and put the brakes on rising costs.

As the Los Angeles Times points out, the bills passed by the Senate and House do exactly that.

[The bills] would bar insurance companies from cherry-picking customers and denying coverage for preexisting conditions, enabling people to switch insurers easily. The bills also would promote competition and clarity in pricing through a new marketplace for individual policies.

The health insurance reform bills would also expand health insurance coverage to between 30 to 35 million Americans, prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage during life-saving treatment, ensure that laid-off workers won't lose insurance and eliminate annual or lifetime caps on coverage. And that is only a sample of how these reforms ensure affordability for the middle class, accountability for insurance companies, and accessibility for all Americans. Read more about the House's Affordable Health Care for America Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis told the House Education and Labor Committee today that the U.S. Department of Labor is both helping the economy recover and improving American workers’ lives by strengthening basic workplace protections, and training workers for new and better jobs.

In case you missed it, the Contra Costa Times (CA) covered Chairman Miller's speech to business and other local leaders yesterday.

Regarding health insurance reform, Chairman Miller said:

A key voice in the House health insurance legislation negotiations has vowed to keep fighting for the beleaguered bill, decrying what he called a bad strategy of kowtowing to a 60-vote supermajority in the U.S. Senate.

"I think we'll have a bill this year," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, after his feisty and occasionally defiant speech to business and other local leaders Monday morning. "I don't know the exact timetable. There are a lot of discussions going on, but I think we will end up getting the votes."

Regarding the legislative process and the 60-vote supermajority rule in the Senate, Chairman Miller said:

The imposition of a supermajority hurdle "empowers the weakest people with worst claims," Miller continued.

When lawmakers must have 60 votes in order to debate a bill, Miller said, it foments bad deals such as Nebraska trading its support for an exemption from paying the costs of caring for poor children.

"The minute you to go to majority rule, you become more bipartisan," he said. "The extremes know you don't need them.

If you are interested, watch Chairman Miller's speech and Q&A (53:13)

In the New York Times editorial this morning, Don't Give Up Now, the editorial board argues that:

Congress is achingly close to passing legislation that would cover most uninsured Americans and provide much more security for all Americans — guaranteeing that if they lose their jobs they will be able to buy affordable policies and can’t be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

If the Democrats quit now, so close to the goal line, the opportunity for large-scale reform could be lost for years. Meanwhile, the number of uninsured, currently more than 46 million, will keep going up and the cost of health care will continue to soar.

Chairman Miller made the same point in his op-ed, health insurance reform remains critical to economic growth. "Health care costs are unsustainable; they’re still crushing families, small businesses and large companies. When people lose their jobs they lose their health insurance. People with jobs and who want coverage but find out they have a pre-existing condition still can’t get coverage. Businesses large and small come before Congress every day and tell us how they’re going to have to drop coverage for their employees or go out of business."

And Americans know this intuitively. A new poll by Kaiser Family Foundation found that although Americans are divided about health insurance reform proposals overall, they become more supportive when told about key provisions. The poll concluded that "majorities reported feeling more favorable toward the legislation after learning about key elements such as the availability of tax credits for small businesses, the creation of health insurance exchanges, the inability of insurers to deny people coverage because of pre-existing conditions and the move to close the Medicare drug benefit’s 'doughnut hole.'”

Both the Senate and House bills include all the above provisions and many more to ensure affordability for the middle class, accountability for insurance companies, and accessibility for all Americans. Learn more about the House's Affordable Health Care for America Act.

For the past year, the Democrats have been working tirelessly to reform health insurance yet, the GOP struggles for consensus on health care according to a report on NPR today.

“But there’s just one problem, says health policy analyst Len Nichols of the nonpartisan New America Foundation. If you take most of the ideas that Republicans are shopping around at the moment, ‘then we’re back to policy that, frankly, was rejected by Republicans when they had a majority”

Meanwhile Democrats in the House and the Senate have each produced legislation that will:

• Ensure that 30 to 35 million Americans will have health insurance coverage.
• Prevent insurance companies from discriminating or charging more because of a preexisting condition.
• Prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage during life-saving treatment.
• Ensure that laid-off workers won't lose insurance.
• Eliminate annual or lifetime caps on coverage.
  

Chairman Miller and House Leaders are committed to crafting the strongest final bill possible for American families.

A lot of things may have changed in light of the Massachusetts special election upset Tuesday, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the health insurance crisis in America. We must address this crisis.

Health care costs are unsustainable; they’re still crushing families, small businesses and large companies. When people lose their jobs they lose their health insurance. People with jobs and who want coverage but find out they have a pre-existing condition still can’t get coverage. Businesses large and small come before Congress every day and tell us how they’re going to have to drop coverage for their employees or go out of business.

All of these problems remain, and so does our need to address them.

Today seems like a good time to pause and reflect on exactly why health insurance reform is vital for America.

• Health insurance reform means you never have to be sick, without a safety net because it offers protections against insurance company discrimination and losing coverage when you get sick.
  
  
• Health insurance reform means you will continue to have access to health insurance even if you lose your job. Find out how that would work with our interactive graphic on health insurance reform.


• Health insurance reform means relief for small businesses and employers as well as jobs for Americans. According to a study by Harvard and USC economists, health insurance reform would save money and boost jobs which is probably why business leaders support health care reform plans.
  


• Health insurance reform means at least 30 million more Americans will finally have health insurance. The uninsured would have access to health insurance plans as soon as the bill becomes law.


• Health insurance reform mean lower drug costs for seniors which explains why seniors and doctors groups have thrown their support behind the health care bill.
  

Learn some more of the specifics behind the Top 10 Health Reform Benefits Every American Should Know About or take a quiz on the urgent need for reform. (below)

The top 10 benefits Americans would enjoy under health insurance reform legislation include:

1. Protections Against Insurance Company Discrimination And Losing Coverage When You Get Sick.  People who have been denied coverage because of a pre‐existing condition will finally have access to affordable coverage. Insurers will no longer be able to drop your coverage when you get sick and are in the middle of treatment.
   
   
2. Insurance Security If You Lose Your Job. Never again will you lose access to insurance if you get laid off or switch jobs.
   
   
3. Relief For Small Businesses And Employers, Jobs For Americans. Small businesses and employers getting crushed by soaring health care costs will see lower costs, allowing them to create as many as 4 million more jobs over the next decade.
   
   
4. No Annual Or Lifetime Limits On Coverage. Never again will you be subject to annual or lifetime limits on what insurance companies will pay, protecting millions of Americans from the threat of medical bankruptcy.
   
   
5. Free Preventive Care. Insurers will be required to offer free preventive care, lowering your out‐of‐pocket expenses and helping ensure that diseases or conditions can be caught early on.
   
   
6. Independent Consumer Advocates And Sunshine On Rate Increases. For the first time, consumers will have independent advocates dedicated to upholding consumer protections, answering their questions, and helping with any problems related to their plans. Insurance companies will be required to disclose their rates to consumers – discouraging them from runaway rate increases.
   
   
7. Lower Drug Costs For Seniors, Lower Premiums For Early Retirees. Seniors who fall into the Medicare Part D donut hole will see lower prescription drug costs as immediate steps are taken to close the donut hole. Employers who cover their early retirees will receive temporary funds to help offset the cost of expensive claims for retirees’ health benefits – lowering premiums and protecting coverage for early retirees.
   
   
8. Better Access And Stronger Protections For Women. Prohibits insurers from charging women more than men for health insurance or discriminating on the basis of domestic violence as a pre‐existing condition. Required maternity services as part of the essential benefits package in the exchange.
   
   
9. Extended Coverage For Young Adults. Young adults will now be able to stay on their parents’ insurance much longer, through their 26th or 27th birthday.
   
   
10. At Least 30 Million More Americans Will Finally Have Health Insurance. Health reform will finally guarantee access to quality, affordable health insurance for 30‐35 million Americans who don’t have coverage today, also eliminating the annual hidden tax of $1,100 that American families pay to cover the cost of the uninsured. While the official health insurance exchanges are being created, a temporary insurance pool will be available for individuals with pre‐existing conditions or chronic illnesses.
    
    

Source: Majority Leader

Following the news that broke via the official House health insurance reform Twitter ID (@healthreformnow), the Politico reports:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer officially announced Thursday that the final health care bill will be posted online for 72 hours before the vote.

“The House Democratic Leadership is committed to having the final health insurance reform legislation online for 72 hours before the House votes, for all Members and the American people to review," the pair said in a statement. "We will continue the transparent process this landmark legislation has had for months.”

This is just another step in the open and transparent process of creating this legislation. In the 111th Congress, the Committees responsible for drafting legislation, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor have:

• Spent nearly 100 hours in hearings on health reform
• Heard from 181 witnesses (both Democratic and Republican)
• Spent 83 hours in Committee markups
• Considered a total of 239 amendments (both Democratic and Republican); approved 121

During the House vote, the full House spent 9 hours debating the legislation in a bipartisan fashion, including allowing the minority a substitute bill to be offered, debated, and voted on.

Putting the final health insurance reform bill online for 72 hours continues in a long line of publicly available materials during this process.

• Draft bill was available online for 25 days before H.R. 3200 was introduced
• H.R. 3200 was posted online for 30 days before the first Committee markup
• H.R. 3200 was posted online for 107 days before introducing the merged bill
• Text of the reintroduced bill, H.R. 3962, was posted online on October 29, 2009, 9 days before the Floor vote
• The Democratic leadership made the Manager’s Amendment (introduced November 3, 2009) available online for a full 72 hours before the Floor vote
• The text of H.R. 3962, as passed by the House, has been available online since passage on November 7, 2009
• A side-by-side comparison of key differences between the House-passed and Senate-passed bills has been available online since December 29, 2009.

Ellen Miller on the Sunlight Foundation's blog said:

Think of posting something on line for 3 days as a ‘safety valve’ – a final chance for citizens, media, lawmakers and lobbyists alike to look at the whole package giving everyone one last opportunity to raise questions and concerns about the bill. If readers are in an advocacy mode they have time to mobilize others in support or opposition, and/or take action in whatever form they see fit.

There is no measure more important to debate in the open than health care, and this is a moment when we all need to be champions for public, online disclosure and engage with our government. With 72 hours, the buck can actually stop with citizens the way our Founders intended. We know that Congress do it because congressional leadership has already done so at other critical points in this debate.

This is what real transparency would look like.

And that is exactly what Democratic House Leadership is striving for.

In September a survey of business leaders by Business Forward found that:

Nearly 90% of those polled cite health care costs as a major concern, more than cite taxes, government regulation, labor costs or energy costs.

Without reform, 86% of those polled believe that health care costs will continue to rise in the next five years, and 55% believe it will go up "a lot." If costs continue to rise as expected, nearly 9 out of 10 business leaders expect to raise their employees' deductibles and copayments. Nearly 8 out of 10 expect to cut benefits. And nearly one in three expects to lay off employees.

Moderate think-tank, Third Way, released a report today entitled 12 Ways Health Reform Will Tackle Runaway Costs. By looking at both the House and Senate bills, they were able to conclude that there would be significant savings for businesses and workers under these reforms.

For American employers and workers:

Over the next 15 years, American businesses would collectively spend $637 billion less on their share of health insurance premiums, and their workers would save a collective $177 billion under the Senate bill. For a typical business with 500 employees, the cost of coverage would be $2.5 million less than it would be otherwise over 15 years. In other words, these reforms will slow the annual growth rate of costs for job-based health care coverage over the next decade and a half from a projected increase of 5.8% to 5.0% per person. For American businesses, these savings will translate directly into higher wages for workers, more money to expand and invest, and a greater ability to succeed in a fiercely competitive global marketplace. For workers, these savings will lead to coverage that is more stable and more secure.

Savings from Reform: 2010 through 2024

	Projected total spending	Projected spending under reform	Total projected reductions in spending from reform
Aggregate spending on employer share of premiums for job-based coverage	$14.55 trillion	$13.91 trillion	$637 billion
Aggregate employee share of premiums for job-based coverage	$4.04 trillion	$3.86 trillion	$177 billion
500-person employer offering coverage	$56.4 million	$53.9 million	$2.5 million

We encourage you to read the report as well as learn about the cost of inaction and how health insurance reform helps small businesses.

The USA Today has a column by Steven Findlay, a senior health policy analyst at Consumers Union (of Consumer Reports fame), that busts 4 of the most common myths about health insurance reform now before Congress.

He says:

1. It's not a government takeover of health care.
2. It's highly unlikely that your existing coverage is going to cost more under this legislation than it would otherwise over the next 10 years.
3. Relatedly, the legislation is not going to bust the budget.
4. Medicare is not being sacrificed on the altar of coverage expansions for the under-65 folks.

H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, is a uniquely American solution to ensuring affordability for the middle class, accountability for insurance companies, and accessibility for all Americans.

Hallmarks of this reform are increasing choice for consumers and competition for insurance companies, reducing the deficit and ensuring the solvency of Medicare and Medicaid while improving the quality of care for every American.

We encourage you to read the entire USA Today column, learn more about the Affordable Health Care for America Act, and educate yourself on some of the other myths surrounding this reform effort.

A report by the General Accountability Office today says that it found "extraordinary price increases" in brand-name drugs. Those increases put an additional burden on sick and struggling families.

According to Reuters:

Prices for hundreds of brand-name drugs have soared since the beginning of the decade, especially those that treat depression, infections and heart disease, according to a U.S. government report on Monday.

The nonpartisan General Accountability Office said it found "extraordinary price increases" for 321 brand-name drugs, with prices jumping by 100 percent to 499 percent -- and in a few cases by more than 1,000 percent.

The number of drug price increases more than doubled from 2000 to 2008 with most drugs maintaining their higher prices over time, the investigative arm of Congress said.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act has multiple provisions to protect consumers and taxpayers from rapid drug price increase.

For consumers, the Affordable Health Care for America Act:

• closes the Part D donut hole by $500 in 2010 and eliminates the donut hole entirely by 2019. This protects seniors by ending the gaps in coverage that force them to pay the full cost of their drugs. For patients who are able to switch to lower-cost generic drugs, H.R. 3962 clarifies that Part D plans can offer a free generic prescription fill when a Part D enrollee switches to the generic.
• requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate with Part D manufacturers for lower prices, providing new leverage to help control Part D drug price increases.
• requires new transparency in drug pricing for plans in the Exchange that use pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs). This will reduce waste, fraud, and abuse and give patients more information about drug prices and spending.

For taxpayers, the Affordable Health Care for America Act:

• expands and increases the Medicaid drug rebate, which requires that manufacturers pay a rebate to cover cost increases that exceed the inflation rate. These payments will protect taxpayers from price increases that occur before or after the health care reform legislation goes into effect.
• contains new Part D rebates that help cut the cost of providing drugs for dually eligible and low-income enrollees. These Part D rebates are based on the Medicaid rebates. They will save taxpayers billions of dollars each year.

These reforms of health insurance are only a few of the many benefits for consumers and taxpayers. We encourage you to read the GAO report, learn more about how H.R. 3962 controls drug prices and improves Medicare Part D, or more about H.R. 3926, the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and George Miller (D-CA), the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, issued the following statement today on a new report released by the Center for American Progress showing that the health reform legislation pending in Congress will significantly lower health care costs for businesses, add as many as 4 million jobs over the next decade, and increase workers’ wages.

The LA Times highlights a new report (pdf) by Harvard and USC economists that say health insurance reform legislation being considered by Congress would slow cost increases and free up money for companies to raise wages and hire more workers.

The LA Times says:

Wading into the hotly debated issue of whether the legislation is a job creator or a job killer, researchers from the two universities say that the reforms under consideration would slow the rate of cost increases and free up money for companies to raise wages and hire more workers.

Specifically, healthcare savings could be achieved through proposals for greater competition in insurance markets, better coordination of care and shrinking administrative expenses, they said in a report to be released today. With those changes, employers could then reallocate money now spent on ever-growing premiums to other business priorities.

According to the study (pdf), it combines previous works by Cutler and Sood to forecast the job-creating effects of health care reform. Specifically, the study combines Cutler’s work demonstrating that reform will slow health care cost growth with Sood’s work demonstrating that every 10 percent reduction in excess health care cost growth – a decrease in cost growth from 2.2 percentage points above GDP to 1.98 percentage points – leads to about 120,000 more jobs.

And just where would one find those new jobs?

The LA Times says:

The Harvard-USC economists concluded that industries with high rates of employer-sponsored insurance -- including manufacturing, utilities and financial services -- would see some of the largest employment gains.

"If you have a strong bill that will promote control of healthcare costs, there will be an effect on the number of jobs," said Neeraj Sood, director of international programs at USC's Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.

The study concludes (pdf) that:

• Health reform will create up to 4 million jobs in the next ten years: The paper finds that health care reform could increase the number of jobs in the United States by about 250,000 to 400,000 per year over the coming decade.
• Reform will create jobs across industries: By 2016, reform will create more than 200,000 new jobs in manufacturing and nearly 900,000 jobs in services.

The work of reconciling the Senate and House bills is no easy task, but yesterday after a meeting at the White House, Speaker Pelosi was clear that the final product would have "a triple-A rating: affordability for the middle class, accountability for the insurance companies, and accessibility to many more people in our country to quality, affordable health care."

Reuters reported on the meeting:

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that any final U.S. healthcare bill must hold insurance companies accountable and be fiscally responsible.

"We all are committed to the fiscal responsibility that has to accompany this bill," she told reporters after meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama and the chairmen of House committees involved with the bill.

The House bill, The Affordable Health Care for America Act [H.R. 3962], reduces the deficit and ensures the solvency of Medicare and Medicaid. The legislation will be entirely paid for – it will not add a dime to the deficit. It will also put Medicare and Medicaid on the path to a more fiscally sound future, so seniors and low-income Americans can continue to receive the quality health care benefits for years to come.

• Pays for the entire cost of the legislation though a combination of savings achieved by making Medicare and Medicaid more efficient – without cutting seniors’ benefits in any way – and  revenue generated from placing a surcharge the top 0.3 percent of all households in the U.S.(married couples with adjusted gross income of over $1,000,000) and other tax measures.
• The Congressional Budget estimates the bill will reduce the deficit by at least $100 billion over ten years.
• Estimates also show the bill will slow the rate of growth of the Medicare program from 6.6 percent annually to 5.3 percent annually.

Learn more about paying for reform and strengthening Medicare within the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

With the goal of a final bill that ensures affordability for the middle class, accountability for insurance companies, and accessibility for all Americans, Chairman George Miller has been working with House Leadership and the chairs of the Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee to craft final health insurance reform legislation.

Never before have we as a nation been this close to ensuring that every American has access to quality and affordable health insurance coverage.  The House and the Senate have each produced legislation that will:

• Ensure that 30 to 35 million Americans will have health insurance coverage.
• Prevent insurance companies from discriminating or charging more because of a preexisting condition.
• Prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage during life-saving treatment.
• Ensure that laid-off workers won't lose insurance.
• Eliminate annual or lifetime caps on coverage.
  

Chairman Miller and House Leaders are committed to crafting the strongest final bill possible for American families.


Watch Chairman Miller discuss health reform on the Ed Show (MSNBC) on January 5:



Read more about the impact of health reform:

• News of the Day: If health care bill passes, some changes would start fast
• News of the Day: Sick, without a safety net
  

Read more about the House's Affordable Health Care for America Act

David Lightman of McClatchy newspapers highlights parts of the health insurance reform bills before Congress that will bring nearly immediate improvements to health insurance coverage for all Americans.

More money for community health centers. Immediate help for the uninsured. No more lifetime limits on coverage.

Under the health care legislation that's moving through Congress, these and other benefits would take effect quickly and should produce a noticeable impact on consumers, according to many independent analysts and Democrats.

"This would be a substantial package that could probably be quite helpful," said John Holahan, the director of the health policy center at Washington's Urban Institute, a research group.

Paul Ginsburg, the president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, called help for Medicare prescription-drug beneficiaries and people with pre-existing medical conditions "highly visible improvements for individuals already highly aware of the shortcomings of the existing system."

Those are just a few of the 14 provisions that would take effect immediately. Mr. Lightman also highlights many of the immediate investments on the road to reform, within both the Senate and House bills.

Leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate are expected to reach agreement on the legislation in the next few weeks, with the aim of having a final bill ready for President Barack Obama's signature later this month.

The two bills have several similar immediate-impact features. Both would bar lifetime limits on coverage, starting six months after the measure is enacted.

They also would expand community health centers, where consumers could go for care, and would require health plans to allow young people, up to age 26 in the Senate bill and 27 in the House bill, to stay on their parents' policies. Age requirements now vary by state.

Both bills provide immediate aid for the uninsured. The Senate would provide $5 billion to help finance a temporary program that would provide coverage to uninsured people with pre-existing conditions, effective 90 days after the bill is signed.

The House bill also would create a temporary insurance program for those who have trouble getting coverage, effective immediately upon passage.

And those consumer protections are just the tip of the iceberg. Learn more about the implementation timeline and what you need to know about health insurance reform in the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

While much has been made about the differences between the House-passed and Senate-passed health insurance reform bills, the LA Times points out that both bills have significant consumer protection reforms.

In their story, Sick, without a safety net, they say:

But no one is talking about dropping the kinds of insurance reforms that will open a new chapter in the lives of sick people like him: those with mental illness, heart disease, cancer, diabetes -- chronic ailments that touch almost every family in America. Those patients are the ones most likely to lose coverage because their policies impose lifetime limits, or because they have, in industry parlance, a "preexisting condition."

Their pain may continue, their premiums may be high, their diseases could remain incurable, but the legislation President Obama is expected to sign into law next year will almost certainly ensure they have access to health insurance.

While explaining these important reforms, through the story of Mr. Parks Johnson and his struggle with bipolar disease, they explore the larger issue of health insurance companies rejecting coverage of the the very sick.

Johnson had hit a wall that affects an estimated 46 million people in America who are without health insurance. In his case, no insurance company would take him because he was already sick, even though his father and his boss were willing to buy him a policy.

The law protects people with preexisting conditions if they are covered by group plans provided by their employers -- people like Johnson's mother. But there are no such protections for those looking to buy individual coverage. More than a third are denied, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Learn more about the House-passed insurance reform bill and the important consumer protections contained within it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and George Miller (D-CA), the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, issued the following statement today after the Senate approved legislation to reform the nation’s health insurance system.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation today to create urgently needed new jobs for construction workers, teachers, police officers, firefighters and others, and to extend critical assistance for the unemployed and those who have lost health insurance. The Jobs for Main Street Act is the most recent step in Congress’ year-long effort to rescue the economy and stem the crippling impacts of the worst recession in generations.

Rep. George Miller, Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, delivers his comments during the floor debate on H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care For America Act on November 7, 2009.



Rep. George Miller, Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, delivers a rebuttal to the proposed Republican amendment during the floor debate on H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care For America Act, on November 7, 2009.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the first time in America’s history, all Americans will have access to quality, affordable health care under updated health insurance reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today. The legislation will cover 96 percent of Americans by 2015, while reducing the deficit by tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. The House approved the measure by a vote of 220 to 215.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), blends and revises the three versions of reform legislation passed by the House committees of jurisdiction in July. It embodies President Obama’s key goals for health reform. It will slow the growth in out-of-control health costs, and introduce competition into the health care marketplace to keep coverage affordable and insurers honest. Additionally, it will protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and assure all have Americans access to quality, stable, affordable health care.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a key architect of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, during consideration of the legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives today.


Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this historic legislation to fix our broken health insurance system and finally bring affordable health coverage to every American.

We are truly on the verge of making history.

Never before has the House or Senate approved a bill to guarantee every American access to affordable health care. Never.

Not that we haven’t tried.   

The fight to reform this nation’s health care system has spanned nearly 100 years, across generations and many great leaders, from Teddy Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy to President Clinton to my own personal hero, Ted Kennedy.

But time and again these efforts were stymied by special interests.

The need for reform is dire.

Big news yesterday as the nation's largest senior citizen group AND the nation's largest organization of doctors both offered support for the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The [AARP], which has been pushing for a health overhaul for more than a year, had withheld a formal endorsement of any of the healthcare bills being developed by congressional Democrats.

That endorsement was followed by an announcement at about 10 a.m. Pacific time from the American Medical Assn. in which the nation's largest doctors group voiced its support for the measure.

AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said today that the group saw the House Democratic bill as the most promising proposal.

...

The AMA's support for the House bill comes ahead of a critical policymaking meeting of its House of Delegates in Houston that begins Saturday. The organization is being asked by some constituencies, at the eleventh hour, to back away from supporting healthcare reform.

"These bills go far beyond what is necessary to fix what is broken with our healthcare system, and they grant the federal government considerable new powers and authority, which could ultimately amount to a complete government takeover of healthcare, and which is anathema to doctors and patients," reads a resolution introduced by the American Assn. of Neurological Surgeons, the American Society of General Surgeons and the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The resolution was also supported by AMA delegations from Georgia and Washington, D.C.

Learn why these groups and many, many others support the Affordable Health Care for America Act at our clearinghouse page.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Fifty-two million people would continue to go uninsured if the House Republican health care legislation was enacted, the Congressional Budget Office said tonight.  Overall, CBO estimates that the bill would only reduce the number of uninsured by 3 million and would cover 83 percent of Americans by 2019 – about the same as what would happen under the status quo. In contrast, the House Democratic health insurance reform bill would cover 96 percent of Americans by 2019 and provide an additional 36 million people with access to quality, affordable health care.

Earlier today, Chairman Miller and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus.

The Wall Street Journal reports, "House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller said his bill would ensure that workers wouldn't miss out on wages if they contract the illness. The employer would be required to pay for the sick leave, and there would be no cost to the taxpayer, Mr. Miller said.

The bill wouldn't oblige employers to pay for workers' time off. It would tell them that, if they intend to send employees who are ill home, they must then pay for them to have up to five days' leave.

Mr. Miller said his panel would hold a hearing on the legislation the week of Nov. 16. If the bill is successfully enacted by Congress, it would take effect 15 days after being signed into law, and expire in two years."

Explaining why this bill is needed, Contra Costa Times quotes Chairman Miller, "Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn’t have to choose between their livelihood, and their co-workers’ or customer’s health. This will not only protect employees, but it will save employers money by ensuring that sick employees don’t spread infection to co-workers and customers, and will relieve the financial burden on our health system swamped by those suffering from H1N1.”

And the next steps according to Reuters are, "Miller said the committee would hold a hearing the week of November 16 and he would press to have a full vote as soon as possible.

Miller said at least 50 million American workers are not paid for time taken off sick, 'many in lower-wage jobs that have direct contact with the public such as the food-service and hospitality industry, schools and health care fields.'"

For more background on who does and doesn't get sick leave, see this post on the New York Times' Economix blog.

WASHINGTON, DC — According to a new analysis by MIT Professor and CBO health advisor Dr. Jonathan Gruber, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) will lower premiums and improve coverage for individuals and families purchasing in the non-group market.  The MIT study estimates that an individual and a family of four would save from $470 and from $1,260, respectively, in health insurance premiums, even without subsidies.  The savings would be even greater for low- and middle- income individuals and families who qualify for affordability credits that can amount to thousands of dollars per year.

“This analysis confirms that the House Democratic health care legislation will lower premiums for individuals and families who purchase insurance in the Exchange,” said Chairman Henry A. Waxman, Chairman Charles B. Rangel, and Chairman George Miller.  “The individual health care market is the part of the health care system that is most dysfunctional today.  The Affordable Health Care for America Act will reform that market in a way that will reduce premiums.”

The MIT estimates are based on an analysis of the bill and the CBO report released yesterday which found that the premiums in the Exchange would be significantly lower than the premiums in the non-group market.  The analysis noted that the savings are in addition to the more generous benefits that individuals and families will receive through the Exchange compared to the non-group market.  Dr. Gruber also noted that the lower premiums are “in addition to all the other benefits that this legislation will deliver to those consumers — in particular the guarantee, unavailable in most states, that prices would not be raised or the policy revoked if they became ill.”

WASHNGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus. The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation the week of November 16.

Ezra Klein at the Washington Post passes along a new academic paper by MIT health economist Jon Gruber. Mr. Gruber has looked at the health care proposals being considered by Congress and has found that the reforms will lower insurance premiums.

One of those states is Massachusetts, which passed health-care reform similar to the one contemplated at the federal level in mid-2006. The major aspects of this reform took place in 2007, notably the introduction of large subsidies for low-income populations, a merged nongroup and small group insurance market, and a mandate on individuals to purchase health insurance. And the results have been an enormous reduction in the cost of nongroup insurance in the state: The average individual premium in the state fell from $8,537 at the end of 2006 to $5,143 in mid-2009, a 40 percent reduction, while the rest of the nation was seeing a 14 percent increase.

You can read the rest of Mr. Gruber's paper here.(MS Word document)

Washington, D.C.  — Today the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released estimates confirming that H.R. 3962 — the Democratic health reform bill — will succeed in controlling costs that will be reflected in individual and family premiums.  CBO found that by 2016, premiums will be $5,300 for an individual and $15,000 for a family of four in the Exchange.  This is well below the $24,000 family premium expected if Congress fails to act and premiums grow as projected under current law.  

The New York Times ran an editorial on Saturday discussing individual mandates and affordability. It covers the key areas of:

• Why is a mandate necessary? [Those without coverage drive up costs for those with coverage]
  
• Will premiums go up or down? [They would go down]
  
• Will there be help? [Yes]
  
• What's affordable? [The House bill provides affordability tax credits for families of 4 up to $88,000]
• Has it been tried? [Yes, successfully]
  
• Which version is more affordable? [The House bill]
  

See the editorial for a complete explanation of how this would work and how it would improve access to quality, stable, affordable health care.

In another column today, E.J. Dionne correctly points out that, while the mandates and subsidies don't start until 2013, there are 14 benefits that start immediately.

That's why the most important document House Democrats released when they unveiled their bill last week was a list of 14 benefits that would be created immediately.

These include insurance reforms to ban lifetime limits on coverage and an end to "rescissions," under which insurers abruptly nullify patients' policies after they file claims. One of the most popular reforms in the bill -- barring insurers from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions -- wouldn't take effect until later. So the House bill creates an interim high-risk pool to help those who need coverage in the meantime.

There are also particular benefits for Medicare recipients, including an immediate reduction in drug costs, and a very popular provision that would allow parents to keep their children on the family health plan through age 26.

Especially important are new investments in community health centers and in efforts to increase the number of primary care doctors. As millions more people get access to decent care, the system will have to provide more doctors, nurses and facilities to treat them.

"People will be excited about 2013," said Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, which shares jurisdiction on the health-care bill. "But there are enough benefits between now and then to keep them engaged and to keep them favorably disposed."

Learn more about the Affordable Health Care for America Act [H.R. 3962] and how reform will slow the growth in out-of-control costs, introduce competition into the health care marketplace to keep coverage affordable and insurers honest, protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and assure all Americans access to quality, stable, affordable health care.

This morning, Rep. George Miller published an op-ed in the Vacaville Reporter about the need for affordable health care for everyone. Below it is excerpted in its entirety.

Readers of this paper will know that, for much of this year, Congress and President Obama have grappled with one of the most important and complicated issues affecting our nation's economy and our community: health insurance reform.

I am proud to announce that on Thursday we introduced revised legislation that addresses many concerns raised about reform and brings us closer than ever to delivering on the long-held promise of quality and affordable health care for each of us.

I am a principal co-author of the bill.

Since three House committees passed a bill this summer, we have worked hard to incorporate changes and improvements suggested by people from across the political spectrum. Our revised bill directly addresses the needs of American families. It will:

• Not increase the deficit.
• Curb out-of-control costs that are bankrupting families and employers.
• Strengthen Medicare for seniors, in part by closing the prescription drug "donut hole" and by making the program sustainable for years to come.
• Protect people against discriminatory insurance company practices. We eliminate so-called "pre-existing" condition denials, stop insurance companies from dropping coverage if you get sick, and establish yearly caps on what you will pay out-of-pocket.
• Keep premiums affordable and insurance companies honest by ensuring competition in the health care marketplace through inclusion of a public consumer option. People in California will be able to choose from multiple private options, such as Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente and others, or choose a public plan that offers the best quality at the best price -- just as they do on Expedia.
• Offer affordability credits to ensure that low-income and middle-class families can pay for coverage, and ensure that small businesses can actually help cover their employees.

One of the biggest concerns I heard throughout this process was about the bill's cost. Let me be clear: Our reforms are fully paid for and will not increase the federal deficit. In fact, our revised bill will reduce the deficit by at least $30 billion over the next 10 years.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of our reforms at $894 billion. More than half of this cost will be offset through a combination of savings generated by making Medicare and Medi-Cal more efficient and implementing new technology, but we do not cut services for seniors or low-income individuals. We improve care for people served by these critical programs.

The rest of the bill's costs are paid for by a surcharge on the wealthiest 0.3 percent of U.S. households-- married couples earning over $1 million dollars and individuals earning more than half a million dollars annually.

For the past 70 years, Americans have battled hard for the right to quality, affordable health care. While we still have hard work ahead, next week the House will vote on our truly historic legislation and get us closer than ever to achieving what generations of Americans have been fighting for.

Today's New York Times editorial, The House Health Reform Bill, is strongly in favor of the Affordable Health Care for America Act because, among other things, it would:

require insurers to allow young people through age 26 to remain on their parents’ policies. It would provide immediate help to people who have been uninsured for several months or denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. It would speed elimination of a gap in drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries (the so-called doughnut hole) and would give the government power to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries, a promising way to reduce costs.

The bill would take a long stride toward universal coverage while remaining fiscally responsible.

We strongly encourage you to read the entire editorial and to learn more about the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the first time in U.S. history, all Americans would have access to quality, affordable health care under updated health insurance reform legislation unveiled by House Democrats today. The House is expected to debate and vote on the legislation next week.

For the first time in U.S. history, all Americans would have access to quality, affordable health care under updated health insurance reform legislation passed by the House on November 7, 2009, by a vote of 220-215.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act [H.R. 3962], which blends and updates the three versions of previous bills passed by the House committees of jurisdiction in July, embodies President Obama’s key goals for health reform. It will slow the growth in out-of-control costs, introduce competition into the health care marketplace to keep coverage affordable and insurers honest, protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and assure all Americans access to quality, stable, affordable health care.

The key components of the Affordable health Care for America Act include:

Increasing choice and competition. The bill will protect and improve consumers’ choices.

• If people like their current plans, they will be able to keep them.
• For individuals who aren’t currently covered by their employer, and some small businesses, the proposal will establish a new Health Insurance Exchange where consumers can comparison shop from a menu of affordable, quality health care options that will include private plans, health co-ops, and a new public health insurance option. The public health insurance option will play on a level playing field with private insurers, spurring additional competition.
• This Exchange will create competition based on quality and price that leads to better coverage and care. Patients and doctors will have control over decisions about their health care, instead of insurance companies.

Giving Americans peace of mind. The legislation will ensure that Americans have portable, secure health care coverage – so that they won’t lose care if their employer drops their plan or they lose their job.

• Every American who receives coverage through the Exchange will have a plan that includes standardized, comprehensive and quality health care benefits.
• It will end increases in premiums or denials of care based on pre-existing conditions, race, or gender, and strictly limit age rating.
• The proposal will also eliminate co-pays for preventive care, and cap out-of-pocket expensesto protects every American from bankruptcy.

Improving quality of care for every American. The legislation will ensure that Americans of all ages, from young children to retirees have access to greater quality of care by focusing on prevention, wellness, and strengthening programs that work.

• Guarantees that every child in America will have health care coverage that includes dental, hearing and vision benefits.
• Provides better preventive and wellness care. Every health care plan offered through the exchange and by employers after a grace period will cover preventive care at no cost to the patient.
• Increases the health care workforce to ensure that more doctors and nurses are available to provide quality care as more Americans get coverage.
• Strengthens Medicare and Medicaid and closes the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole’ so that seniors and low-income Americans receive better quality of care and see lower prescription drug costs and out-of-pocket expenses.

Ensuring shared responsibility. The bill will ensure that individuals, employers, and the federal government share responsibility for a quality and affordable health care system.

• Employers can continue offering coverage to workers, and those who choose not to offer coverage contribute a fee of eight percent of payroll.
• All individuals will generally be required to get coverage, either through their employer or the exchange, or pay a penalty of 2.5 percent of income, subject to a hardship exemption.
• The federal government will provide affordability credits, available on a sliding scale for low- and middle-income individuals and families to make premiums affordable and reduce cost-sharing.

Protecting consumers and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse. The legislation will put the interests of consumers first, protect them from problems in getting and keeping health care coverage, and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.

• Provides transparency in plans in the Health Exchange so that consumers have the clear, complete information, in plain English, needed to select the plan that best meets their needs.
• Establishes consumer advocacy offices as part of the Exchange in order to protect consumers, answer questions, and assist with any problems related to their plans.
• Simplifies paperwork and other administrative burdens. Patients, doctors, nurses, insurance companies, providers, and employers will all encounter a streamlined, less confusing, more consumer friendly system.
• Increases funding of efforts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse; creates enhanced oversight of Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Reducing the deficit and ensuring the solvency of Medicare and Medicaid. The legislation will be entirely paid for – it will not add a dime to the deficit. It will also put Medicare and Medicaid on the path to a more fiscally sound future, so seniors and low-income Americans can continue to receive the quality health care benefits for years to come.

• Pays for the entire cost of the legislation though a combination of savings achieved by making Medicare and Medicaid more efficient – without cutting seniors’ benefits in any way – and  revenue generated from placing a surcharge the top 0.3 percent of all households in the U.S.(married couples with adjusted gross income of over $1,000,000) and other tax measures.
• The Congressional Budget estimates the bill will reduce the deficit by at least $100 billion over ten years.
• Estimates also show the bill will slow the rate of growth of the Medicare program from 6.6 percent annually to 5.3 percent annually.

According to a preliminary review by the USA Today, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has created or saved more than 388,000 jobs so far this year.That number is only for jobs created directly by the stimulus package and doesn't include jobs created indirectly by workers spending their new earnings.

While jobs were created across all sectors of the economy, the USA Today highlights some jobs created in the education sector.

The states' reports suggest the biggest impact has been at schools. Twenty-three states that have reported school job numbers said more than 156,000 jobs had been created or saved.

Carol Bingham, director of fiscal policy for the California Department of Education, estimated the stimulus saved about 20,000 teaching positions. But she and others warn that precisely counting saved jobs has proved almost impossible. "It was intended to be a count. The way it was done, I think it's going to end up being an estimate," she said.

Indiana officials reported that the stimulus had created or saved about 13,000 school jobs. Asked whether he had any idea how many layoffs the plan had prevented, state Education Department spokesman Cam Savage replied: "I really don't."

Learn more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and read Chairman Miller's statement about the Administration's estimates on education jobs.

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) today announced that they successfully secured provisions in the House version of the health insurance reform package that would provide for reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) – a long-sought priority for the two Chairmen.

“The job of reforming the Nation’s health care system and providing access to quality care for all Americans will not be complete until such care is extended to those living in Indian Country.  In the 17 years that have lapsed since the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) was last reauthorized, the dire needs of health recipients throughout native communities that rely on these services have suffered.  That is why it is more important now, than ever, that we work to fulfill our federal responsibility and see that the needs of our First Americans are attended to through national health insurance reform legislation,” said Chairman Rahall.

“We have a special responsibility to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act after more than a decade of delay. Today's news is a critical step for Indian Country and the best chance for passage of this legislation. Improving the quality and availability of care to American Indians and Alaska Natives is an important piece of our effort to ensure access to affordable, quality health care for every American,” said Chairman Miller, one of three Chairmen writing the health insurance reform bill.

“Words cannot express my gratitude to Chairman Rahall and Chairman Miller, who have been with us from the beginning as we worked together to address long-standing deficiencies in the delivery of Indian health care.  We are elated that our long journey to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act is one giant step closer to being realized, through the inclusion of this critical legislation in the House health insurance reform bill.  This critical effort to modernize our health care delivery system will go a long way in improving the health status of those living in Native American and Alaska Native communities,” said Rachel Joseph, Co-Chair of the National Tribal Steering Committee for the Reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

First enacted in 1976, IHCIA is the primary source of medical care for 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, many of whom live in isolated, sparsely populated, and underserved areas of the country.  Yet, the program was allowed to expire in 2001 and has not been reauthorized in 17 years, keeping the programs far out of pace with the dire needs of health service recipients throughout the native communities that rely on these services.

In June 2009, Rahall and Miller co-sponsored bipartisan legislation, H.R. 2708, to reauthorize the Act.  Later that month, Rahall, who has long made IHCIA reauthorization a priority, led a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on the critical and needed legislation.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and George Miller (D-CA), the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, today issued the following statement after the Senate Finance Committee approved its version of health insurance reform legislation. The House is currently working to combine the three versions of the bills approved by their committees in July.

“This marks an historic day in our decades-long fight to bring quality, affordable health care for every American. Today’s bipartisan vote by the Senate Finance Committee means that all five of congressional committees of jurisdiction have passed health insurance reform – an historic feat in its own right – and that we are one step closer to delivering the reforms that American people, businesses and our economy desperately need.

“In the House, we are nearly finished blending the bills passed by our committees.  The legislation we will ultimately consider reflects the goals and principles laid out by President Obama, and the hard work and input provided by members from across the spectrum of our diverse caucus. We look forward to bringing legislation to the floor that slows spending and protects consumers by introducing competition and accountability into the health care marketplace to keep insurers honest and create choices for everyone. We look forward to delivering legislation that guarantees quality health insurance that every American can afford.”

The House Committee on Education and Labor hosted CNBC's Squawk Box in the hearing room this morning. Here is the interview with Rep. George Miller about health care reform and the economy.

Our health insurance reform effort is about two things: making insurance secure and affordable to those who have it, and ensuring access to affordable, quality coverage for those who don’t.

Too many Americans have to fight with insurance companies over basic care -- being excluded for pre-existing conditions, facing outrageous medical bills, or appealing again and again to have a much-needed procedure approved.  If you have had trouble with your insurance company, I’d like to hear about it.  This is too important, and we're too close to the finish line, to falter now -- your stories will help me make the case for real health insurance reform.


We have proposed specific and important insurance reforms to:  

• Guarantee that you will not be denied coverage based on a so-called pre-existing condition
• Limit out-of-pocket expenses to protect families from medical-related bankruptcy
• Make your insurance policy transparent so you know what you’re paying for
• Prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage when you get sick
• Prevent insurance companies from charging people different rates based on gender, health status, or occupation.

 
Our reforms would guarantee that your medical care is decided by you and your doctor, not insurance companies.  That’s the way it ought to be.

Take the Health Reform Quiz

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this week, U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and George Miller (D-CA), the Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the House, sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Veterans Committee to reinforce their commitment to protecting veterans’ current health plans and expanding access to quality, affordable health care options for their dependents as health insurance reform efforts move forward.

Under the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), veterans’ health care coverage will fulfill their individual responsibility requirements – meaning they can keep their current plans and those plans will not be affected by the legislation. The bill will also expand access to additional quality, affordable health insurance options for veterans and their family members through the new health insurance exchange. The three committees are currently working to merge the versions of the bills that were passed in July in preparation for consideration by the full House.

Learn the basic principles of President Obama's health insurance reform plan as presented to Congress on September 9, 2009.

E.J. Dionne's commentary in the Washington Post today, A Political Idea Warp, makes the point that sometimes political labels are less than helpful in evaluating various proposals before Congress. He uses the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act as an example.

The bill, which passed 253 to 171, would allocate about $80 billion over the next decade for new loans, community colleges, school construction and early childhood programs without increasing taxes or adding to the deficit. How? Instead of paying bankers to provide loans for which they bear no real risk, the government would make the loans directly.

Liberals are always accused of spending money without worrying where it comes from, but in this case, costs are covered by making a government program more efficient -- yes, at the expense of bankers.

"We were paying these exorbitant subsidies to bankers who were taking government money, loaning it to somebody else, getting government guarantees that the loans would be paid back, and then taking all these profits," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the bill's champion. This, he told me, led Congress to ask itself: "Hey, chump, what is it you don't get about what's going on here?" The only knock on the proposal is ideological: that government is "taking over" the student loan program. But it's already a government program. The bill simply eliminates corporate welfare.

This is a classic case of how the Great Ideological Distortion Machine does its mischief: Instead of focusing on how the bill advances values typically regarded as "centrist" -- government efficiency, pay-as-you-go budgeting -- the banks' defenders bury the specifics behind abstract discussions of "big government." Yet I'd venture that middle-of-the-road Americans prefer that their tax money go toward education rather than to padding the profits of financial firms.

Mr. Dionne also remarks about how this talk over labels and "prefabricated boxes" is coloring the health care debate. We encourage you to read the entire article.

Tuesday was a jammed packed day for George Miller on health reform and college affordability. Starting at 9 am, he co-chaired a forum on health insurance reform, attended a Democratic Caucus on health care with President Obama’s senior advisor, held a rally with college students and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221), took calls with reporters and editorial boards across the country, and appeared before the House Rules Committee to get the bill on the House Floor.  The bill will be debated Wednesday and voted on Thursday.  It was a very good day for the interests of American consumers and families.

Below is a slideshow of his very busy day of action:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Barack Obama’s address to Congress tonight moved Congress closer to approving comprehensive health insurance reform, said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the chief architects of the House reform legislation.

“Tonight President Obama made a clear and convincing case to Congress: We must pass health insurance reform. Repeating history by doing nothing is not an option. American families and our nation’s businesses cannot afford to wait any longer. This is what Americans across the country, of all backgrounds and political stripes, told lawmakers in town hall meetings, coffee shops, and local grocery stores over the past month. Their need for higher quality, more secure, and more affordable health insurance hasn’t changed. And neither has our obligation – as their elected officials – to deliver it for them.

E.J. Dionne has a column in the Washington Post today that tries to tell the real town hall story. Despite polls showing again and again that the majority of Americans are in favor of reforming our health care system, the media played up a few loud and disruptive town halls.

Mr. Dionne says:

Over the past week, I've spoken with Democratic House members, most from highly contested districts, about what happened in their town halls. None would deny polls showing that the health-reform cause lost ground last month, but little of the probing civility that characterized so many of their forums was ever seen on television.

"I think the media coverage has done a disservice by falling for a trick that you'd think experienced media hands wouldn't fall for: of allowing loud voices to distort the debate," said Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, whose district includes Columbus, Ohio.

At her town halls, she said, "I got serious questions, I got hostile questions, I got questions about how this would work, I got questions about how much it will cost. I also got a lot of comments from people who said it's important for their families and businesses to get health-care reform."

Rep. Frank Kratovil hails from a very conservative district that includes Maryland's Eastern Shore and says it didn't bother him that he was hung in effigy in July by a right-wing group. "As a former prosecutor, I consider that to be mild," he said with a chuckle. The episode, he added, was not at all typical of his town-hall meetings, where "most of the people were there to express legitimate concerns about the bill, wondering about how it was going to impact them" and wanting "to know the truth about some of the things that were being said about the bill."

The most disturbing account came from Rep. David Price of North Carolina, who spoke with a stringer for one of the television networks at a large town-hall meeting he held in Durham.

The stringer said he was one of 10 people around the country assigned to watch such encounters. Price said he was told flatly: "Your meeting doesn't get covered unless it blows up." As it happens, the Durham audience was broadly sympathetic to reform efforts. No "news" there.

Instead of listening to the loudest voices, we encourage you to learn for yourself how health care reform will affect you with this nifty interactive webpage and by visiting our clearinghouse of information. We, also, encourage you to read Mr. Dionne's entire article.

Today's News of the Day is from the Congressional Budget Office. The New York Times covers the letter from the CBO to House Republicans regarding cost savings on drug spending under Medicare under the proposed America's Affordable Health Choices Act:

Medicare beneficiaries would often have to pay higher premiums for prescription drug coverage, but many would see their total drug spending decline, so they would save money as a result of health legislation moving through the House, the Congressional Budget Office said in a recent report.

Premiums for drug coverage would rise an average of 5 percent in 2011, beyond the level expected under current law, and the increase would grow to 20 percent in 2019, the budget office said.

“However,” it said, “beneficiaries’ spending on prescription drugs apart from those premiums would fall, on average, as would their overall prescription drug spending (including both premiums and cost-sharing).”

How would the America's Affordable Health Choices Act bring the total drug spending for seniors down? Again, the article explains:

The House bill would require drug companies to provide larger discounts, or rebates, on medications dispensed to low-income people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. It would also require drug makers to provide 50 percent discounts on brand-name drugs in the doughnut hole, until the coverage gap was eliminated.

The budget office said premiums would increase, in part, because Medicare drug plans would have to provide additional coverage, paying some costs that beneficiaries now pay themselves.

“In return for those higher premiums,” Mr. Elmendorf said, “enrollees would receive greater protection against incurring high drug costs. As a result, beneficiaries’ spending on prescription drugs apart from the premiums would decrease, on average. That reduction in cost-sharing would outweigh the increase in premiums, again on average.”

We encourage you to read the entire article and learn more about the America's Affordable Health Choices Act.

The Hidden Health Care Tax

This year, every insured American family will pay $1,017 -- and insured singles will pay $368 per year -- in insurance premiums just to cover the medical expenses of the uninsured. That's $42.7 billion this year - or $1,354 per second. This "Hidden Health Care Tax" is the undisclosed insurance premium surcharge, paid by America's businesses and insured Americans, that subsidizes the uncompensated health care costs of the uninsured.

So if you think reform will cost you more to cover the uninsured, you need to know you're paying more now.

America's Affordable Health Choices Act (HR 3200) will end the Hidden Health Care Tax and will reduce health care costs, protect and increase consumers' choices, and guarantee access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Source: Families USA

The USA Today Editorial board wrote their view on health care: Dispute over ‘public option’ veers into fantasyland. They said this about the public option provision in the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.

This entirely voluntary plan — that's why it's called an "option" — would bring some cost control to health care by applying government's purchasing power as leverage against medical providers and insurance companies. Yet the idea is cynically cast as a "government takeover of health care" — rhetoric worthy of the Mad Hatter.

The editorial board then points out a well-known fact that the government already pays a large percentage of health care costs and the cost of inaction would lead to health care costs consuming 25% of GDP in 2025.

The dirty secret of our health care system is that it already is dependent on government or, more precisely, government waste. More than 46% of all medical service in the USA, about $1 trillion annually, is paid for directly by taxpayers. Private insurers cover 42%, and the remainder is paid out of pocket. In addition to what government pays directly, it pumps in more than $200 billion a year in tax subsidies.

If Washington does nothing, this government role will only get a lot bigger as the population ages, providers hike prices and private coverage becomes increasingly unaffordable.

We encourage you to read the entire editorial and learn more about the America's Affordable Health Choices Act.

The Washington Post debunked one of the leading myths being peddled by health reform opponents this morning. They took on the misleading claims about end-of-life discussions being forced euthanasia.

 

Washington Post says:

 

THE DEBATE over health reform has veered into a peripheral and misleading discussion of whether it includes a scheme to pressure senior citizens into pulling the plug. The most extreme misrepresentation has "death panels," as former Alaska governor Sarah Palin colorfully put it, deciding who is too old or too disabled to merit treatment. This is a distorted interpretation, to say the least. The debate threatens sensible policy on end-of-life discussions and in the separate realm of reforming the health-care system.

 

First: It makes sense for everyone to think about end-of-life issues, and the earlier in life the better. If you want every last heroic measure to be tried to extend your life, you can say so. If you have a different vision, you can spell that out. You will be doing your relatives and yourself a favor if you express yourself while you are still healthy. You can always change your mind.

 

The Washington Post goes on to discuss the need for end-of-life planning and the cost saving benefits of it. Learn more about the misinformation campaign against the America’s Health Choices Act.

Today’s LA Times editorial called for Americans to refuse the status quo in health care. They explain how while most of cable news has been covering town hall protests recently, while there are daily stories that have gone unnoticed but reveal the need for real health reform.  

 

LA Times says:

 

It's too bad the television cameras haven't been trained instead on the Forum in Inglewood, where the Remote Area Medical Foundation opened a temporary clinic this week. The scene makes a compelling case for a health care overhaul, putting a human face on the dry statistics about uninsured and underinsured Americans. People started lining up Monday for a chance to be treated Tuesday by volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses and other health care providers. About 1,500 people were seen that first day; after hundreds more camped out overnight, the clinic ran at full capacity again on Wednesday. It's scheduled to stay eight days before heading to its next stop, a reservation in Utah.

 

The turnout in Inglewood was huge despite the lack of publicity about the clinic, indicating how great the need is for more primary care. These are the people whose first stop for treatment tends to be the emergency room, often after a routine problem has festered long enough to become a complex (and expensive) one. Expanding health insurance to cover this group wouldn't be cheap, but it's a prerequisite to the changes in delivery and payment that will help improve care and control costs.

Remote Area Medical's experience here also illustrates one of the best features of our health care system: the humanitarianism of its professionals. But unless the system is reformed to bring basic health care services to all Americans, far too many will continue to depend on the kindness of strangers.

 

We encourage you to continue read the remainder of the LA Times editorial and learn more about the America’s Health Choices Act.

 

In this morning’s USA Today editorial, they take on myths that continue to surface about health care reform. On July 31, U.S. Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and George Miller (D-CA) released a statement exposing the campaign of misinformation on health care.

USA Today says:

There's an old proverb that says a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still getting its boots on. That's surely true when the lie instills deep personal fears, and lies appear to be in full sprint as the nation's health care debate goes local.

Some August town hall meetings around the country have degenerated into furious shouting matches, driven by outrageous misinformation borne of many sources.

The Internet spreads anonymous chain e-mails to a public that is both vulnerable and gullible. Groups with a financial or ideological interest give the rumors a boost. Talk radio provides an echo chamber for the demonizers. Most outrageously, political leaders who know better and could oppose legislation in a more credible way, engage in their own hyperbole or simply remain silent. One Republican senator, South Carolina's Jim DeMint, simply bypassed the substance of the discussion, saying it was a chance to "break" a popular Democratic president. He has plenty of company that isn't quite as blunt.

We encourage you to continue reading the USA Today editorial and learn more about the America’s Health Choices Act.

There has been an email going around with a line-by-line critique of HR 3200 - the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act. Unfortunately, they are not based in truth, but designed to scare recipients. The email is quite long, so for some of the most egregious distortions of the health insurance reform legislation, please visit the Pulitzer prize-winning fact check site run by The St. Petersburg Times. Please note the spelling is in the original e-mail.


Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit the books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
 

• Page 22 of H.R. 3200 requests a study, not an audit, of the effects to which rating rules are likely to cause adverse selection in the large group market and employer self insurance market insurance market. This does not require an audit of ALL employers that self insure

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benes u get

• Nothing in the bill infringes upon you and your doctor’s ability to make medical decisions.  The National Health Benefits Advisory Council is not a “government committee” but is made up of providers, consumer representatives, employers, labor, health insurance issuers, independent experts and representatives of government agencies.  They will make recommendations about minimum standards of care and covered benefits that insurance companies have to offer- ensuring that everyone has a health plan that provides them with adequate coverage. 

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!

• This is a misreading of the text.  This section limits the amount of out-of-pocket costs you will face to $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 (indexed to CPI) for a family for a basic package of care.  This ensures you have access to affordable care and won’t go bankrupt paying for it.

Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose UR HC Benefits 4 you. U have no choice!

• The Health Choices Commissioner is charged with ensuring insurance plans are meeting regulations and minimum standards as well as administering affordability credits and monitoring the exchange.  Nothing in this section or in the larger bill permits the Health Choices Commissioner to choose your benefits for you

PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided 2 ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

• This is blatantly false.  This section prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against persons when issuing coverage, and has nothing to do with government subsidized coverage to illegal immigrants.  The bill explicitly states that no Federal payments will be used for affordability credits for illegal immigrants.  (P. 143, sec. 246). 

Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access 2 individuals' finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

• This section says nothing about a National ID health card, or accessing your personal financial information.  This section promotes administrative simplification- for example being able to look up your insurance coverage and determine how much you will pay and which provider your insurance will accept, at the point of service.  This saves money and gives you, the consumer, information about what you will owe at the front end, rather than being denied or getting a surprise bill from your insurance company weeks after your treatment.
  

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer

• This section encourages the development of standards to encourage electronic payments between providers and insurance companies.  Administrative simplification measures like these save billions of dollars.  Nothing will give the government access to your bank account.

PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan 4 retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).

• This section provides a limited reimbursement for participating employment-based private plans for part of the cost of providing health benefits to retirees (age 55-64) and their families.  People who have been forced into early retirement in this age group do not qualify for Medicare and this will help them stay on their employer provided, private insurance plan if their employer wants to participate.  Participation is voluntary. This is for all early retirees, and no language targets the provision towards unions or acorn.

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange 2 bring priv HC plans under Govt control.

• The bill imposes new regulations on private health care plans that will force them to end unethical practices such as rescissions or denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.  The Exchange will improve the quality of coverage and increase the affordability of private insurers in the Exchange.
  

PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs 4 priv. HC plans in the Exchange

• Insurance companies in the Exchange will have to offer a basic benefit packages in every service area.  This package will include basic care such as hospitalization, physician visits, medical equipment, mental health, preventative care, maternity and well baby care, and drugs – services that anyone would expect a real insurance policy to cover.  Private insurers may offer a higher tier of coverage with more benefits that are not mandated by the government if they choose.
  

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration ur Healthcare!

• No, this determines the minimum standards insurance companies must offer coverage for- it has nothing to do with rationing.  Private plans can offer extra benefits like dental or vision coverage for adults, or other non-covered benefits that are not included in the basic level plan.

PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic approp svcs. Example - Translation 4 illegal aliens

• The bill requires plans in the Exchange to offer culturally and linguistic appropriate services.  The U.S. is a diverse country culturally and linguistically.  Many legal residents and citizens of the U.S. speak other languages, and implying that everyone of a different culture in the U.S. is here illegally is intolerant and incorrect.  The bill explicitly states that it will not subsidize coverage for illegal immigrants.  (P. 143, sec. 246). 

Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps 2 sign up indiv. for Govt HC plan
 

• The Health Choices Commissioner will conduct outreach and enrollment activities to educate Exchange-eligible individuals and businesses about enrollment in the new Exchange, which includes many private plans along with the public option.  This includes a toll-free hotline, maintenance of a website, creation of outreach materials, and community locations for enrollment.
  

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members - U Health care WILL b rationed

• This section has nothing to do with seniors or Medicare. It describes the minimum benefits insurance plans must offer under the Exchange.

U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), the chairmen of the House Committees on Education and Labor and Ways and Means, today congratulated U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on passing the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, H.R. 3200.

“We congratulate Chairman Waxman and the members of the Energy and Commerce Committee for taking the next step in this historic process. Now all three committees in the House have said ‘yes’ to health insurance reform that reflects the principles that President Obama has set forth and delivers on the change American families, businesses and local economies need. We look forward to continuing to work together over the coming weeks to reconcile the differences between these three bills and prepare to bring unified legislation to the House floor in September that lowers health costs, protects patients’ choices of doctors and plans, and ensures access to quality, affordable health insurance for all Americans.”

Today U.S. Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and George Miller (D-CA) highlighted the campaign of misinformation being waged by opponents of health insurance reform on a conference call with reporters today.  Independent fact check organizations have shown that opponents of health insurance reform have resorted to making outrageous and misleading claims about the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), while refusing to engage in a meaningful debate on the policy of reform.

Learn more here.

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and George Miller (D-CA) highlighted the campaign of misinformation being waged by opponents of health insurance reform on a conference call with reporters today.  Independent fact check organizations have shown that opponents of health insurance reform have resorted to making outrageous and misleading claims about the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), while refusing to engage in a meaningful debate on the policy of reform.

“We will hold Republicans and the health insurance industry accountable for peddling fear and misinformation in order to protect the status quo and huge profits,” said Van Hollen, the Assistant to the Speaker. “It has been 44 days since Republicans guaranteed a bill, but instead of keeping their word they have launched a full scale attack on the truth.”

“Fear has become the main diet of the Republicans and the insurance industry,” said Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, which passed H.R. 3200 earlier this month. “Opponents know how close we are to delivering a bill that reflects the goals of President Obama and the change the American people want and deserve, which is why their efforts to mislead the public are only getting more desperate. We won’t allow their lies, scare tactics and political games to stand in the way of passing reforms that will reduce costs, protect people’s choice of doctors and plans, and ensure access to quality, affordable health care for all.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement today on the agreement reached between U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and members of the panel. The deal will allow Waxman’s Committee to pass the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200) by the August district work period.

Congressional opponents of health care reform are claiming that a provision in the America’s Affordable Health Choice Act will start "us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia.” This is completely false.

The provision that opponents are alluding to is Section 1233. This bi-partisan provision would allow seniors, if they choose, to have an advanced care consultation with their doctor be paid for by Medicare once every five years, or more frequently if the patient has a life threatening disease. That is all. These consultations include "an explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title."

There is no reasonable basis for believing that a senior’s conversations with their doctor on the range of end-of-life care would do anything to promote euthanasia -- which is illegal in 48 states. Discussions between sick or elderly people and their doctors about end-of-life treatment have long been an accepted part of modern patient care. In 2003, a Bush administration agency issued a 20-page report outlining a five-part process for physicians to discuss end-of-life care with their patients and since 1990, Congress has required health-care agencies to inform patients about state laws regarding advance directives such as a living will.

Which leads to another myth: Patients will be forced to sign a living will. There is no mandate to sign a living will. If a patient chooses to complete a living will, those documents will help articulate a full range of treatment preferences, from full and aggressive treatment to limited, comfort care only.

The Committee wishes these were just the occasional rumor, but, unfortunately, even President Obama was asked these questions yesterday at a town hall. The President responded with, “I think that the only thing that may have been proposed in some of the bills -- and I actually think this is a good thing -- is that it makes it easier for people to fill out a living will.”

The Committee is working hard to ensure that America’s Affordable Health Choices Act works for Seniors, and to ensure that the American people have the facts about how health care reform will help them. The AARP endorses this bill because it includes several key provisions that improve Medicare benefits and health care for seniors, including:

• Protects your access to the doctor of your choice—incenting more family doctors to enter the profession and more doctors to practice in rural areas—and allowing all Americans to keep their current doctor.
• Phases in completely filling in the “donut hole” in the Medicare prescription drug benefit (where drug costs are not reimbursed at certain levels), potentially savings seniors thousands of dollars a year.
• Eliminates co-payments and deductibles for preventive services under Medicare.
• Limits cost-sharing requirements in Medicare Advantage plans to the amount charged for the same services in traditional Medicare coverage.
• Improves the low-income subsidy programs in Medicare, such as by increasing asset limits for programs that help Medicare beneficiaries pay premiums and cost-sharing.
• Computerizes medical records so seniors won’t have to take the same test over and over or relay their entire medical history every time they see a new provider.
• Starts rewarding doctors for the quality, not just the quantity, of care they provide.
• Extends solvency of Medicare by 5 years or more.

Our health care related news of the day is Ezra Klein's op-ed in the Washington Post. He explains how the health care exchange would work and the many benefits to all consumers.

Compared with the crazy-quilt system we have now, the idea behind the health insurance exchange is almost weirdly simple: It's a single market, structured for consumer convenience, in which you choose between the products of competing health insurers (both public and private). This is not a new idea. It is how we buy everything from books to socks to soup. Everything, that is, except health insurance. The benefits of reversing that bit of accidental exceptionalism are obvious to anyone who has ever stepped inside a Target: Consumers will benefit from more choice, from direct competition between insurance providers hungry for their business, from regulations meant to protect them from deceptive products, from efficiencies of scale, and from the sort of purchasing power that only a large base of customers can provide. They will benefit, in other words, from an actual, working market -- something health insurers have managed to avoid for far too long.

But all health insurance exchanges are not created equal. Just as there's a weak and strong version of the public plan, there's a weak and strong version of the exchange.

The strong version is national, or at least regional. It's open to everyone: The unemployed, the self-employed and any business, no matter the size, that wants to buy in. There's risk adjustment to reduce the incentive for cherry-picking. The huge pool of users gives the exchange tremendous advantages in scale, simplicity and standardization (experts say that you need at least 20 million to fully achieve these benefits -- easy in a national exchange but harder in a regional or state-based one). With so many potential customers, insurers are eager to participate, and they will bid aggressively to ensure they're included in the market and compete aggressively to make sure they're successful within it. Over time, the combination of increased efficiencies and greater competition drive down costs, which will lead more employers to use the exchange, which will in turn give it more scale and bargaining power. You could easily see this exchange slowly emerge as the de facto American health-care system. And not through government fiat. Through consumer choice.

The America's Affordable Health Choices Act contains this strong version of the health insurance exchange.

He ends his op-ed with this:

The only way that health-care reform will truly give us a more efficient, more effective, more affordable health-care system is if it begins to fundamentally change the inefficient, ineffective, unaffordable system we have now. The strength of the health insurance exchanges is the key to that transition. That is not to underplay the political or policy challenges. Change is scary. But it's what Obama promised, and it's what the health-care system needs.

We encourage you to read Ezra's complete op-ed as well as learn more about the America's Affordable Health Choices Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An analysis released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), yesterday affirms that H.R. 3200, the  America's Affordable Health Choices Act, would offer targeted assistance to those in need today and lead to an increase in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.

The analysis was developed in response to questions by House Republicans and offers further evidence that several of the leading claims being made by opponents of health reform are unfounded. In addition to confirming that H.R. 3200 will increase the number of Americans receiving employer-provided care, CBO also reinforces that the vast majority of Americans will be in private, employer-sponsored coverage, and that of the Americans who enter into the health insurance exchange, the majority will choose to enroll in private plans.
 

Yesterday the New York Times wrote an extensive editorial about health care reform and you. It answers many of the frequently asked questions.

• What are the elements of reform?
  
• Is there help for the insured?
  
• Is there more security for all?
• Who pays?
• Who won't be happy?
• What if I have good group coverage?
• Will I pay less?
• Will my care suffer?
• What does it mean for older Americans?

If you'd like to know more specifically how the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act will affect you and your neighbors, see the Committee on Energy and Commerce's breakdown by congressional district.The PDFs provide a district-level analysis of the impact of the legislation. This analysis includes information on the impact of the legislation on small businesses, seniors in Medicare, health care providers, and the uninsured. It also includes an estimate of the impacts of the surtax that is used to pay for the legislation.

Today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Congressional Republicans continued to mislead the public about the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, and even continued to portray the insurance-funded Lewin Group as a “non-partisan foundation” – an allegation the Washington Post debunked earlier this week.

Here’s a look at some of their biggest whoppers:

CLAIM: Republicans want to strengthen the Inspector General, which is not in the Democratic bill.

Reality Check: The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act establishes vigorous oversight, accountability and consumer protections to ensure that all health care plans operate in the best interest of the American people. It actually does create a new Inspector General to oversee all health care plans, both public and private, that operate in the new health insurance exchange.

CLAIM: The Lewin Group says 100 million Americans move from private insurance to government-run program.

Reality Check: The Lewin Group is hardly a credible or “non-partisan” source (more on that below) on this. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, only about 9-10 million people will choose the public health insurance option under the House Democratic bill. In fact, CBO estimates that 30 million will enter the new health exchange; two-thirds of those people will choose private plans, and one-third of those people will choose the public health insurance option. In addition, CBO estimates that employer-provided care will actually increase by 2 million people under the House bill.

CLAIM: The Lewin Group is a “non-partisan…foundation.”

Reality Check: The Washington Post and other independent media outlets have already exposed the truth about the Lewin Group -- and it’s hardly non-partisan. The group is funded by United Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest insurers. According to the Washington Post: “More specifically, the Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that was accused by the New York attorney general and the American Medical Association, a physician's group, of helping insurers shift medical expenses to consumers by distributing skewed data.”

CLAIM: Under the House bill, every health plan in America must look the same after 5 years.

Reality check: Again, this is misleading. By 2019, all employer-provided plans will have to meet the minimum standard benefit offered as part of the Exchange. Almost 90 percent of all employer health insurance plans already meet or exceed these standards. Employers that do not meet these minimum standards will have until 2019 to meet the minimum standards.

The American people are sick and tired of the same old political spin machine. They deserve honesty about real solutions that will fix our broken health care system and provide them with the affordable, quality health care they deserve. For more on what the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act will really do, and how it will deliver on the change the American people want, click here.

BusinessWeek has a blog post about a Rand Corp study that shows rising health care costs lead to job losses. BusinessWeek says:

In a first-of-its-kind study, the non-profit Rand Corp linked the rapid growth in U.S. health care costs to job losses and lower output. The study, published online by the journal Health Services Research, gives weight to President Barack Obama’s dire warnings about the impact of rising costs if Congress does not enact health care reform.

The study found that economy-wide, a 10% increase in excess health care costs growth would result in about 120,800 fewer jobs, $28 billion in lost revenues, and $14 billion in lost GDP value. We encourage you to read the entire BusinessWeek post because it explains the methodology and reveals some additional findings.

The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial yesterday that advanced false and misleading information regarding the House’s health reform bill, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, (H.R. 3200).

While most Americans are satisfied with their health insurance coverage now, most Americans are concerned that they will either lose their insurance or face staggering increases in premiums, co-pays or other costs. The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act is about giving all American families more choices of quality, affordable health care and the peace of mind that they will be covered with quality, affordable care no matter of their job or economic situation.  

Claim: Workers won’t be able to keep health coverage they like because Washington bureaucrats will change what employers can offer.

• In 2018, all employer-provided plans will have to meet the minimum standard benefit offered as part of the Exchange. These minimum benefits will be based on 70 percent of the typical health insurance plan offered by employers today.
• More than 90 percent of all employer health insurance plans already meet or exceed these standards. Employers that do not meet these minimum standards will have until 2018 to meet the minimum standards.

Claim: Analysis by the Lewin Group analysis shows that 88 million of Americans will be thrown off of their employer plans.

• The Lewin Group (a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare) analysis was requested by the right-wing Heritage Foundation has been widely discredited for its flawed review of the House legislation.
• The House bill actually protects and increases employer-sponsored insurance. According to official CBO numbers, 2 million more people would be covered under employer-sponsored insurance than is projected to be the case today – 164 million compared to 162 under current law.

Claim: The House bill removes current law that prevents employee lawsuits over employer provided benefits.

• The legislation does not change current law regarding lawsuits.

Claim: High deductible plans and health savings accounts will be illegal under the House bill

• Nothing in the legislation prevents employers from offering health savings accounts. In fact, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the average HSA today will meet or exceed the minimum benefits standards.

Washington, D.C. -- The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released estimates this evening confirming for the first time that H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, is deficit neutral over the 10-year budget window – and even produces a $6 billion surplus.  CBO estimated more than $550 billion in gross Medicare and Medicaid savings.  More importantly, the bill includes a comprehensive array of delivery reforms to set the stage for lowering the future growth in health care costs.  

Net Medicare and Medicaid savings of $465 billion, coupled with the $583 billion revenue package reported today by the House Committee on Ways and Means, fully finance the previously estimated $1.042 trillion cost of reform, which will provide affordable health care coverage for 97% of Americans.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Education and Labor Committee today passed historic legislation that will deliver the fundamental health reforms that Americans want by reducing and controlling costs, guaranteeing people’s choices of doctors and plans, and ensuring access to quality, affordable health care for all.

The Committee passed the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, H.R. 3200, by a vote of 26-22. Five amendments offered by Republicans were adopted. The legislation is expected to be considered by the full House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

Organizations Supporting H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act

• AARP
• AFL-CIO
• American Academy of Nursing
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  
• American College of Physicians
• American College of Surgeons
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
  
• American Medical Association
• American Nurses Association
  
• American Osteopathic Association
• American Psychiatric Association
• American Public Health Association
• Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
• Communications Workers of America
• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
  
• Consumers Union
• Doctors for America
• Families USA
• Healthcare for America Now
• International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
• International Association of Fire Fighters
  
• Main Street Alliance
• National Association of Community Health Centers
• National Breast Cancer Coalition
• National Coalition on Health Care
• National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
  
• National Medical Association
• National Women’s Law Center
• SEIU
• United American Nurses
• United Auto Workers
• United Steelworkers
• YMCA
  

Today's New York Times' editorial strongly endorsed the America's Affordable Health Choices Act.

House Democratic leaders have unveiled a bill that would go a long way toward solving the nation's health insurance problems without driving up the deficit. It is already drawing fierce opposition from business groups and many Republicans. This is a bill worth fighting for.

The bill would require virtually all Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. And it would require all but the smallest businesses to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a substantial fee. It would also expand Medicaid to cover many more poor people, and it would create new exchanges through which millions of middle-class Americans could buy health insurance with the help of government subsidies. The result would be near-universal coverage at a surprisingly manageable cost to the federal government.

....

The legislation also includes some sound ideas for slowing the inexorable rise in health care costs. Such savings are also essential for the nation’s economic health. It adjusts Medicare reimbursements to encourage health care providers to improve productivity, reduce costly hospital readmissions and spend more time on primary care that can head off the need for costly specialists. It expands prevention and wellness activities.

And it establishes a center to compare the effectiveness of various drugs, devices and procedures. Unfortunately, it prohibits the government from requiring public or private insurers to set reimbursement policies based on the findings. These steps may not produce big savings quickly but could lower costs in future years.

The bill makes a mockery of Republican claims that the Democrats are pushing a hugely costly government takeover of medicine.

We encourage you to read the entire editorial, learn more about the America's Affordable Health Choices Act and watch today's markup.

Republicans and right wing commentators who oppose health care reform hope to turn our effort at lowering costs and expanding access into a debate about whether or not to tax small businesses.  In opposing our reform they would instead continue the hidden health care tax on all Americans that exceeds the surcharge on the highest income taxpayers that is included in the House bill.

Before you adopt their rhetoric, remember that nearly half of the cost of the House Democrats’ health plan would be paid by tight cost controls and forcing down the expense of the health care system.  That’s a top priority.  And as for who will pay higher taxes and who won’t under our plan, here are the cold facts.

Only the highest earning 1.2 percent of American households will pay a surcharge for health care reform.  That leaves 98.8 percent of American households who will not pay any surcharge at all.

As for small businesses, according to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation, only 4.1 percent of all small business owners will be affected by the health care surcharge. The remaining 95.9 percent of small business owners will be completely unaffected by the surcharge.  

Under our bill, a family making up to $350,000 in adjusted gross income (AGI) will not owe any surcharge at all, as President Obama has promised.  A family making $500,000 in AGI will contribute $1,500 to help reduce costs and provide access to affordable health care for all Americans – 0.3 percent of their annual income. And a family making $1 million in AGI will contribute $9,000, or 0.9 percent of their annual income.

Who are the highest earning 1.2 percent of all households?  They are the same households who over the past 20 years have seen a massive shift in wealth in their favor and who over the last 8 years received the lion’s share of President Bush’s tax cuts.

Between 2001 and 2010, the richest one percent of taxpayers alone will have received approximately $700 billion from the Bush tax cuts, according to Citizens for Tax Justice.  Those tax cuts for the wealthy one percent have been the biggest contributor to the record deficits wrung up during the Bush Administration – deficits that were passed along to President Obama in January.

The Washington Post put it another way.  They pointed out that over the past 20 years, the highest earning Americans have seen their tax burden go down and their share of national wealth rise.  The share of adjusted gross income claimed by the highest earning Americans doubled, from 11 percent to 22 percent.  
Meanwhile, average American working families have seen their wages stagnate, their health care costs spiral out of control, and their share of national wealth reduced.

Many Republicans and right wing commentators would do nothing to reform health care and would instead leave in place the hidden $1,800 a year tax on all Americans in the form of rapidly rising health insurance premiums caused by uncontrolled health care spending and the shared cost of covering the uninsured.

Congress faces a clear choice.  Our plan cuts more than $500 billion in health care spending and asks the richest 1.2 percent of all households to make a modest contribution of their income toward the remaining cost of our health care reform effort to reduce costs and strengthen our economy.  The main Republican plan --Just Do Nothing -- maintains the hidden tax on every business, large and small, and every American suffering under today’s broken health care system.

George Miller (D-CA) is chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the three principal authors of the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act” introduced this week.

The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), developed jointly by the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees, is designed to achieve President Obama’s goals of strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken. The bill would ensure that 97 percent of Americans will be covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

The markup was expected to last two days.

Wednesday was only for opening statements only.

Thursday began at 10:00 a.m. in room 2175 Rayburn House Office Building will be for consideration of amendments.

After working through the night, the committee reconvened at 9:15 Friday morning for a series of roll call votes.

H.R. 3200 - America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 was reported favorably to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, and that the Committee authorize the Chairman to transmit the bill, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, to the Committee on Budget in compliance with Section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as the first part of this committee’s recommendations, pursuant to the reconciliation instruction in S. Con. Res. 13 by a vote of 26 to 22.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, praised a new proposal announced by President Obama today that will prepare more students and workers for jobs by strengthening the nation's community colleges. Miller said that he plans to introduce the initiative in the U.S. House of Representatives tomorrow as part of larger legislation that will make college more affordable through major student loan reforms.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced comprehensive health care reform legislation today that will reduce out-of-control costs, encourage competition among insurance plans to improve choices for patients, and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

The legislation, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, is consistent with President Obama’s overall goals of building on what works within the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken. The bill will ensure that 97 percent of Americans will be covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.
 

The Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced comprehensive health care reform legislation on July 14 that will reduce out-of-control costs, encourage competition among insurance plans to improve choices for patients, and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. (CBO confirms the bill is deficit-neutral over the 10-year budget window, and even produces a $6 billion surplus.)

The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act is consistent with President Obama’s overall goals of building on what works within the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken. The bill will ensure that 97 percent of Americans will be covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

The House Committees on Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce have been working together in an unprecedented way as one committee to develop the proposal for health care reform. (The Education and Labor Committee passed H.R. 3200 on July 17, 2009; the Ways and Means Committee passed H.R. 3200 on July 17, 2009; the Energy and Commerce Committee pass H.R. 3200 on July 31, 2009.)

The key principles of legislation include, among other things:

• Increasing choice and competition.
• Giving Americans peace of mind. 
• Improving quality of care for every American.
• Ensuring shared responsibility.
• Protecting consumers and reducing waste, fraud and abuse.

America's Affordable Health Choices Act: Complete Bill Text (HR 3200) »
America's Affordable Health Choices Act: Summary »
America's Affordable Health Choices Act: Section by Section »
America's Affordable Health Choices Act: As Reported »

What's In the Health Care Reform Bill for You? »

Cómo Te Benefica La Reforma Del Seguro Médico »

Myth vs. Facts »
The Health Insurance Exchange »
Public Health Insurance Option »
Shared Responsibility »
Guaranteed Benefits »

Making Coverage Affordable »
Consumer Protections and Insurance Market Reforms »
Employers and Health Reform »

Provisions that Benefit Small Businesses »

Strengthening the Nation's Health Workforce »
Delivery System Reform »

Protecting Program Integrity by Preventing Waste, Fraud and Abuse »
Strengthening Medicare »
Improving the Medicare Part D Drug Program »
Maintaining and Improving Medicaid »
Preventing Disease and Improving the Public's Health »

Controlling Health Care Costs »
Paying for Health Care Reform »
Health Care by the Numbers »


Education and Labor Chairman George Miller's Statement »
White House Statement on the House Discussion Draft for Health Care Reform »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (DCA),
chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, at a press conference to
introduce the House Tri-Committee legislation to reform health care, the America’s
Affordable Health Choices Act.
*****
Three weeks ago, we took a historic step forward in the critical quest to fix our broken
health insurance system. We presented a reform discussion draft to the Congress and the
American people.

Our three committees heard from over 70 stakeholders at hours of hearings on our draft.
We held discussions with our colleagues whose input has strengthened our effort.

Today, we are proud to introduce a health care reform bill based on our work so far, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.”

Our bill embraces the desires of the American people and meets the goals articulated by
President Obama -- to lower costs, preserve choice, and expand access to care. And our
bill addresses America’s economic and fiscal health and the medical well being of our
people.

Clearly, economic growth is compromised by spiraling health care costs and the rising
deficits fueled by unchecked and inefficient health care spending. That is why our bill
will curtail health care spending and be fully paid for. It will save more than $500
billion in health care expenditures that will drive down the cost of health care. And we
will not pass new costs on to future generations.

Let me be specific about what our bill means for average Americans:

LOWER COSTS FOR HEALTH CARE

• No more co-pays or deductibles for preventative care.
• No more rate increases because of a pre-existing condition, your gender, or
occupation.
• An annual cap on your out-of-pocket expenses.
• Group rates of a national pool if you buy your own plan.
• Guaranteed, affordable oral, hearing and vision care for your kids.

GREATER CHOICE OF CARE

• You can keep your doctor and your current plan if you like them.
• Your choices will be protected and enhanced. You will have access to a wide
variety of choices for quality and affordable plans, including a high-quality public
health insurance option to compete with private insurers.

HIGHER QUALITY OF CARE

• You and your doctors make health care decisions – not insurance companies.
• More family doctors and nurses will be able to enter the workforce, helping
guarantee you access to better treatment that meets your needs.
• Mental health care must be covered.

STABILITY AND PEACE OF MIND

• Never again will you go without health insurance.
• You will have the peace of mind knowing that you will never lose coverage if you
lose a job or switch jobs.
• You will never be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
• And you won’t face any lifetime limits on how much insurance companies will
pay – meaning you will never again be one treatment away from bankruptcy.

And our reforms will cover 97 percent of Americans by 2019.

Beginning this week, our committees will mark up our respective areas of jurisdiction.
Our Republican and Democratic colleagues have already been busy drafting amendments
to the bill and they will have the opportunity to offer their amendments.

We will continue to improve our bill by working with those with constructive ideas and
will endeavor to satisfy the many competing demands that naturally accompany a bill of
this scope and importance.

Not every change can be included nor every concern resolved. That is the legislative
process.

But we will -- this year -- produce a bill that is fair and fully paid for, that reduces costs
and preserves choice, and that expands access.

And it will be a major accomplishment for the American people.

Today at 2:45pm Eastern time, House Democrats will discuss the health care reform legislation introduced by the Tri-Committees (the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees).  The three panels with jurisdiction over health policy in the House have been working together as one committee to develop a single bill that fulfills President Obama’s goals of reducing health care costs, protecting and increasing consumers’ choices, and guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

The USA Today has a poll on their front page that shows Americans want a health care bill. On June 19th, House Democrats released a Discussion Draft that would reduce out-of-control costs, improve choices and competition for consumers and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. It would also guarantee that almost every American is covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

The USA Today poll found:

The poll of 3,026 adults, surveyed Friday through Sunday, has a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points. Some questions, asked of half the sample, have an error margin of +/-3 points.

By 56%-33%, those surveyed endorse the idea of enacting major health care changes this year. Just one in four say it's not important to them.

When it comes to financing the costs, six of 10 favor the idea of requiring employers to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a fee instead. Increasing income taxes on upper-income Americans, an approach backed by House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is endorsed by 58%. Just over half support taxing sugary soft drinks.

We encourage you to read the entire article and visit our webpage with many fact sheets about the Discussion Draft.

Chairman Miller appeared on the Ed Show on July 8, 2009 to talk about health care reform. The embedded segment is 13:14 and Chairman Miller's interview begins at 9:45.

A new study released today by the Economic Policy Institute that concludes that claims of massive jobs losses if a ‘play-or-pay” proposal was enacted as part of health care reform are vastly overstated. In fact, health care reform in general, based on the Obama principles, would produce significant job gains, the EPI wrote.

‘Play or pay’ policy as a part of health care reform would require that employers either provide health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty as a percentage of their payroll in order to assist low- or moderate-income families to obtain quality and affordable health care.

Under the House Tri-Committee discussion draft proposal, employers who choose not to provide basic health insurance to workers would have to pay an 8 percent penalty based on their overall payroll. Those workers would then be able to choose a plan that best meets their needs from a menu of insurance options in the national health care exchange, which would include both private plans and a public health insurance option.

The EPI also found that past studies that claim significant job losses as a result of ‘play-or-pay’ were based on proposals not on the table today in either the House or the Senate.

View the EPI analysis of ‘play-or-pay’.
 

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. George Miller (D-CA) released the following statement calling on  the House to approve the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, one of President Obama’s top domestic priorities.

“Passage will represent a monumental step forward in our effort to build a vibrant and green economy based on clean energy, less foreign oil, and a reduction in greenhouse gases,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee and one of the co-authors of the energy bill. “Californians have led the nation in breaking our dependence on fossil fuels and have always known that the future belongs to clean energy technology jobs.  It is long past time for us to stop sending our national treasure to pay for foreign oil. This bill gives us the opportunity to follow California’s lead and move America in a new energy direction.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Tri-Committee Discussion Draft advances President Obama’s goals for health care reform, a diverse group of small business owners, economists, consumers, patient advocates and other stakeholders told the House Education and Labor Committee today.

The plan, which was unveiled last Friday by the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees, would reduce out-of-control costs, improve choices and competition for consumers and expand access to quality, affordable health care. It would provide health care coverage to at least 95 percent of Americans by 2019, the most of any proposal to date.

“Consistent with President Obama’s goals, our discussion draft builds on what works and fixes what’s broken in our current system,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee and one of the authors of the draft. “It lays the foundation for an American solution that will reduce costs for families, businesses and taxpayers, guarantee choice of doctors and plans, and ensure that everyone has access to affordable, quality health care.”

“The Tri-Committee bill, I think, is an important step in coming up with a bill that does encompass so many of the principles that the President has said was important, and that the dual thing of expanding coverage and making the kinds of meaningful reforms that will slow the growth rate of cost,” said Dr. Christina Romer, the Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 23 on the forthcoming draft proposal for health care reform developed by the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees. The draft proposal is designed to achieve President Obama’s goals of controlling health care costs, preserving health care choices, and ensuring quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

On Friday, NPR's All Things Considered ran a story about the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy unveiling of their discussion draft for health care reform.

House leaders unveiled Friday their version of a health care overhaul. House Democrats are showing unusual unity on the complicated issue: a single measure will proceed through three different committees on its way to a House floor vote slated for late July.

Listen here or download the MP3 (1.65MB).

Below are the prepared remarks of Chairman George Miller at a press conference with the chairs of the other committees with health policy jurisdiction at the U.S. House of Representatives to unveil the Tri-Committee Discussion Draft for Health Care Reform.

Today marks a historic moment in America’s urgent quest to fix our broken health insurance system.

For the past six months, our three committees -- the committees that have jurisdiction over health care in the House -- have worked together in an unprecedented manner to develop and present a health care reform discussion draft to Congress and the American people that embodies President Obama’s call for fundamental change in our health care system.

President Obama asked us to draft a reform bill that will control costs, guarantee choice, and ensure quality and affordable health coverage for all Americans.

I believe that our draft lives up to those essential principles. Our discussion draft reflects months of hard work and the views of many of our colleagues.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled their discussion draft for health care reform that would reduce out-of-control costs, improve choices and competition for consumers and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. The discussion draft would guarantee that almost every American is covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

Consistent with President Obama’s goals, the draft builds on what works in the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken with it. The draft would cover more Americans than any other proposal released to date.

Updated: for the most up-to-date information on health care reform, please visit our page about HR 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.

-----------------
On June 19, the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled their discussion draft for health care reform.  The draft would reduce out-of-control costs, improve choices and competition for consumers and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. It would also guarantee that almost every American is covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019. More from the press conference »

Consistent with President Obama’s goals, the draft builds on what works in the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken with it. The draft would cover more Americans than any other proposal released to date.

Today at 1:00 pm EDT, the chairmen of the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees will unveil their discussion draft for health care reform. The three panels with jurisdiction over health policy in the House, have been working together as one committee to develop a single bill that fulfills President Obama’s goals of reducing health care costs, protecting and increasing consumers’ choices, and guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 23 on the draft proposal for health care reform developed by the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees.  The draft proposal is designed to achieve President Obama’s goals of controlling health care costs, preserving health care choices, and ensuring quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

WHAT:          
Hearing on “The House Tri-Committee Draft Proposal for Health Care Reform”
 
WHO:            
Panel I:
Dr. Christina Romer, Chair, Council of Economic Advisers, Washington, DC

Panel II:
John Arensmeyer, Chief Executive Officer, Small Business Majority, Sausalito, CA
Dr. Jacob Hacker, Professor and Co-Director of the Berkeley Center on Health, Economic, and Family Security, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Ron Pollack, Founding Executive Director, FamiliesUSA, Washington, DC
Gerald Shea, Assistant to the President, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC
Fran Visco, President, National Breast Cancer Coalition, Washington, DC
Additional Witnesses TBA

Panel III:
Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Karen Pollitz, Research Professor and Project Director of the Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
William Vaughn, Senior Health Policy Analyst, Consumers Union, Washington, DC
Celia Wcislo, Assistant Division Director, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Boston, MA
ReShonda Young, Small Business Owner, Alpha Express, Inc. on behalf of the Main Street Alliance, Waterloo, IA
Additional Witnesses TBA
                       
WHEN:          
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
12:00 p.m. EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
 

The Contra Costa Times has an article about how health care reform is taking center stage in Congress. Building upon the draft health reform outline released last week by the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and the Education and Labor Committees, Chairman Miller has continued to work toward health care reform that increases access and brings down costs.

Proponents say the reforms will bring down costs through increased competition and provide every American access to health care regardless of employment status or income.

"I think it's going to happen," Miller said of the restructuring legislation. "People recognize the shortcomings of the system they now have. The economy has shown the vulnerability of families at all levels when people lose their jobs and their health care. It's very hard to see how you fix the American economy if you don't fix health care."

To learn more about how the Committee and Congress is working to create a more effective and efficient health care system that will guarantee quality, affordable health coverage for all American families and workers visit our webpage and the Office the Majority Leader's Health Care Reform Clearinghouse.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, leaders of the Committees with jurisdiction over health policy briefed members of the House Democratic Caucus on the current framework and timing of health reform efforts in the House of Representatives.  The discussion, led by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), focused on the key principles of reducing health care costs, protecting current coverage and preserving choice for patients to ensure affordable, quality care for all. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Reps. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Henry Waxman (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA), the chairmen of the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Education and Labor Committees, joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer at a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss their efforts to pass health care reform legislation this year. After the meeting, the chairmen released the following statement: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, today lauded the Senate’s confirmation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Miller said today’s action further strengthens prospects for meeting President Obama’s goal of enacting comprehensive health care reforms this year.

The Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Thursday, April 23 to examine various health care reform proposals that will guarantee quality and affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans.

WASHINGTON, DC – Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) met today with the chairmen of the three committees working to develop health care reform legislation in the House - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (CA), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (NY), and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (CA) – and other health care leaders to discuss the reform initiative. Hoyer and the three chairmen issued the following statement after the meeting:

“We may have three Committees with jurisdiction over health care in the House of Representatives, but we speak with one voice.  Reforming America’s health care system to control costs and ensure that everyone has affordable care that meets their needs is central to long-term economic recovery and growth.  We are committed to working together to advance health reform legislation that meets the objectives laid out by President Obama. Today’s meeting was very productive as we continue to move forward in a focused and coordinated way to improve health care for all Americans. ”

The Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Thursday, April 23 to examine various health care reform proposals that will guarantee quality and affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans.

WHAT:          
Hearing on, “Ways to Reduce the Cost of Health Insurance for Employers, Employees and their Families”

WHO:            
Karen Davenport, director of health policy, Center for American Progress
David Himmelstein, associate professor of medicine, Harvard University
Michael Langan, principal, Towers Perrin
William Oemichen, president and CEO, Cooperative Network, Madison, Wisc.
Ron Pollack, executive director, FamiliesUSA
Janet Trautwein, executive vice president and CEO, National Association of Health Underwriters
William Vaughan, senior health policy analyst, Consumers Union

WHEN:         
Thursday, April 23, 2009
10:30 a.m., EDT
                        
WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

 

E.J. Dionne had a column in yesterday's Washington Post outlining why "this is the year Congress will finally give every American access to health insurance." He highlights the efforts of legislators who "have quietly been preparing the ground for reform since the Democrats took over two years ago. And the competing interest groups seem more inclined to get what they can out of reform than to stop the enterprise altogether."

Mr. Dionne notes the importance of the House in passing comprehensive health care reform and how "Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), one of the House's resident health-care mavens, has been working closely with two other committee chairs, Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.)."

To show how committed they are to working together toward a common solution, Reps. Miller, Rangel and Waxman wrote a letter to President Obama in early March saying, "In order to achieve our shared goal of enacting health reform this year, we will coordinate our committee consideration so that action on the House floor can occur before the August recess."

We recommend you read Mr. Dionne's entire article.

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today Chairmen Henry A. Waxman, Charles B. Rangel, and George Miller sent a letter to President Obama regarding their commitment to work together to pass national health reform.  The text of the letter follows: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – While most Americans get health care coverage from their job, rising costs are forcing more employers to drop coverage or shift costs onto their workers, witnesses told the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee today. 

The Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine ways to increase health care insurance coverage for Americans through their employer. While nearly 47 million Americans currently have no health insurance at all, more than 27 million of those uninsured have jobs.

On Tuesday, March 10, the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine ways to increase health care insurance coverage for Americans through their employer. Watch live here » While nearly 47 million Americans currently have no health insurance at all, more than 27 million of those uninsured have jobs.

WHAT:          
Hearing on “Strengthening Employer-Sponsored Health Care”
 
WHO:            
Mark Derbyshire, small employer, Aberdeen, Maryland
Bruce Pyenson, principal and consulting actuary, Milliman Inc.
John Sheridan, CEO, Cooper University Hospital
Kenneth Thorpe, chair of the health policy and management department, Emory University
E. Neil Trautwein, vice president and employee benefits counsel, National Retail Federation
Jim Winkler, health management practice leader, Hewitt Associates
                       
WHEN:          
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
10:30 a.m. ET

WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after attending the White House Summit on Health Care.

“Today President Obama not only took a very productive first step toward putting us on the path to meaningful health care reform, but he began an inclusive process by bringing all stakeholders to the table. He’s being honest about the reasons we’re in this mess – and that reforming health care is a fiscal and economic necessity. As we move forward, I hope all players involved follow his lead by putting good policies above politics.

Click here to read the guidance released by the IRS on March 31, 2009 (PDF) »

Summary:  Recession-related job losses are threatening health coverage for many families. To help workers maintain their health coverage while they are between jobs, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides a 65% reduction in the premiums payable by involuntarily terminated workers and their families for health care continuation coverage under COBRA. This premium reduction will last for up to 9 months.  Workers who have been involuntarily terminated during the period from September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009 and their families are eligible. This premium reduction also applies to health care continuation coverage that may be required by states for insurance policies sponsored by small employers (so called state mini-COBRAs) and public employees.  This provision will help 7 million people maintain their health insurance by providing a vital bridge for families when workers have been forced out of their jobs as a result of the recession.

Chairman George Miller has been invited to speak at a panel on health care at President Obama’s White House summit on fiscal responsibility. The panel also includes Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, among others.

“Passing the President’s economic recovery plan was only the first step in our efforts to restore our nation’s economic and fiscal health,” said Miller. “Eight years of reckless fiscal policies and the ongoing economic crisis have left our country in a sea of red ink. President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have made it clear that they are committed to using the resources of the federal government to rescue our economy but that they also are committed to operating our government in a fiscally responsible manner. Whether it is our health care system, our tax policy, or other issues, I look forward to working with the president and the speaker to make our nation more efficient while raising the quality of services Americans receive. Doing so will strengthen our middle class and our nation."

Improving workers’ access to quality, affordable health care is a top priority for the Education and Labor Committee in the 111th Congress. As chairman of the committee, Miller shares jurisdiction on health care reform with the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees.

***

DETAILS:

WHAT: Chairman Miller to Speak on Health Care Panel at White House Fiscal Responsibility Summit
WHEN: Today, beginning at 1:00 p.m. eastern

WASHINGTON – As part of legislation to rescue the American economy, the U.S. House of Representatives today approved measures to expand access to affordable health care coverage for workers who lose their jobs as a result of the recession by a vote of 244 to 188. The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that the package would help 8.2 million people keep health care coverage for themselves and their families.