Sunday, March 21, 2010
Statement on H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010
Health Care Reform: Common Sense for the Common Good
March 21, 2010
Dear Madame Speaker:
I rise today in support of H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act. I urge all my colleagues to support this bill because it will improve the accessibility and affordability of health care for millions of Americans.
Today, there are more than 44 million Americans who lack health care insurance. We must ensure that the needs of these Americans are met. This bill will help us begin to do just that.
While we in Congress have deliberated and debated the costs, challenges, and consequences of health care reform, millions of Americans continue to sacrifice, struggle, and suffer. Hundreds of people have sent me letters and e-mails, called and visited my office, and participated in town hall meetings to express their opinions. The majority of my constituents want and need health care reform. Many are unemployed and struggling to maintain their health care insurance while trying to make sure that there is food on the table, that they have shelter, and that their lights, gas, and water are on. Others are dealing with increases in health care premiums that continue to rise at the will of insurance companies. Still others are trying to get adequate treatment for serious illnesses and to pay for the medicines that can help them.
I am a strong supporter of the single payer health care plan. I also support a strong public option. I support this bill because it begins the process of universal health care coverage for all Americans.
This measure expands coverage to 32 million more people, or more than 95% of Americans, while lowering health care costs over the long term. It prevents insurance companies from discriminating based on pre-existing conditions, health status, and gender. It creates health insurance exchanges—competitive marketplaces where individuals and small businesses can buy affordable health care coverage—and offers premium tax credits and cost-sharing to low and middle income Americans, providing families and small businesses with the largest tax cut for health care in history. It also invests in Community Health Centers to expand access to health care in communities where it is needed most. The bill also empowers the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and state insurance commissioners to conduct annual reviews of new plans demanding unjustified, egregious premium increases.
This bill puts patients and doctors in charge of their health care—not health insurance companies. Children can no longer be discriminated against because of pre-existing conditions. Seniors will no longer have to pay deductibles and co-pays. There will be free mandatory preventive health care provided for all under all health care plans. Plus, there will be a ban on lifetime coverage limits under this bill.
The bill cuts taxes to small businesses to help small employers pay for health care coverage for their employees. Small businesses will have tax credits and vouchers so as to be able to afford health care coverage for their employees.
The bill makes key investments in Medicaid and children’s health. It expands eligibility for Medicaid to include all non-elderly Americans with income below 133% of the Federal Poverty Level and provides fair assistance to states to help cover the costs of these new Medicaid populations. The measure also maintains current funding levels for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through fiscal year 2015 and increases payments to primary care doctors in Medicaid.
The Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act strengthens Medicare. It adds at least nine years to the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Fund, fills the Medicare prescription drug donut hole, improves Medicare payments for primary care, and reduces overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans. It also provides new, free annual wellness visits; eliminates out-of-pocket copayments for preventive benefits under Medicare, such as cancer and diabetes screenings; and provides better chronic care, with doctors collaborating to provide patient-centered care for the 80% of older Americans who have at least one chronic medical condition, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. The bill also encourages reimbursing health care providers on the basis of volume instead of value by including a number of proposals aimed at moving away from the “a la carte” Medicare fee-for-service system toward paying for quality and value, while reducing costs for America’s seniors.
This legislation reins in the abuse by health insurance companies of arbitrarily increasing premiums and stops insurance companies from dropping individuals from policies when people get sick and need health care insurance. If you change or lose your job, you will still have health care coverage. When you enter a hospital, you and your family can rest assured, knowing that your policy will cover the costs associated with your health care.
Last, this legislation demonstrates fiscal sensibility and responsibility. It will reduce the deficit by $148 billion over the next decade, with an additional $1.2 trillion in additional deficit reduction in the following decade. The bill tightens current health tax incentives, collects industry fees, institutes modest excise taxes, and slightly increases the Medicare Hospital Insurance tax for individuals who earn more than $200,000 and couples who earn more than $250,000. It includes a fee on insurance companies that sell high cost health insurance plans to promote smarter, more cost-effective health coverage choices and changes health care tax incentives by increasing penalties on nonqualified distributions from health savings accounts, capping federal saving account contributions, and standardizing the definition of qualified medical expenses. The cost of health care reform under this legislation is fully paid for, in large part, by eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and excessive profits for private insurers.
As Democrats promised the American people, this bill is fully paid for. This legislation is the single largest deficit reduction tool in the history of our country. It is not balanced on the backs of our children and our grandchildren.
My family and my faith provide the foundation for my commitment to service. I am honored and humbled to represent the people of the 13th Congressional District. As Members of Congress, we serve others. Through this service, we often provide people with the tools and resources they want and need. Our service not only changes us for the better by giving our lives meaning and fulfillment, but it also creates positive change in the lives of others. Like a raindrop in a river, our service creates ripples that leave an indelible impact on all those it touches.
Today, we will make history by finishing what many Congresses before us started. The debate has gone on long enough. The American people want action. We must reject the status quo. We must stand up and do what is right. We must be a voice for the voiceless, give hope to the hopeless, and provide help to the helpless by supporting health care reform now.
Let us be the light in the darkness by voting in support of the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act. It will give much needed assistance to millions of Americans by making health care affordable for the middle class, providing security for our seniors, and guaranteeing access to health insurance for the uninsured. It is common sense for the common good, and I urge all my colleagues to vote yes on this historic measure.
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