As you may be aware, the three House committees with jurisdiction over health care have concluded their work to send a bill to the full House of Representatives for debate in September. As this bill, H.R. 3200 the America's Affordable Health Choices Act, exits the committee process it bars insurance companies from discriminating for pre-existing conditions and places an annual cap on out-of-pocket expenses. It would also expand Medicaid to cover many more people, and it would create new exchanges through which millions of middle-class Americans could buy health insurance with affordability credits for those in financial need. It also guarantees that if you like your doctor and current plan you can keep them.

As I meet with people throughout the district, it seems that everyone has a story about health care. Like many of you, I believe that rising costs and the threat of losing coverage is cause for great concern. There are too many examples of people being denied the care their doctor prescribes because their insurance company says no or of businesses being unable to provide coverage because the cost of health insurance is too high or of parents who cannot afford to pay for routine medical treatment to keep themselves and their children healthy. Nearly 94,000 people in the 16th Congressional district have no health care insurance. Young adults frequently lack health care insurance and if a catastrophic event occurs, the medical costs often impact entire families.

The Affordable Health Choices Act is not perfect, but it does address many of the deficiencies in our health care system. It’s estimated that it would help roughly 14,000 small businesses in the 16th Congressional District extend health care coverage to their employees. It’s also estimated that 74,000 people currently without insurance in the district would gain access to quality, affordable health care and that more than 6,000 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D.

As the debate on health care reform moves to the floor of the House early this fall, I will keep the many stories and comments that my constituents have shared in mind. I remained committed to passing a health care reform bill that guarantees affordable, adequate, and accessible coverage for all Americans. Please contact me with your thoughts on this important subject.

Sincerely,

Zoe

Click Here for my Health Care Refrom Information and Resource Page