(Washington, DC) - Congresswoman Corrine Brown voted to pass key improvements to our historic health reform law. The reconciliation bill, which will go to the President for his signature on March 30th, makes health care even more affordable for the middle class, lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the "donut hole" over time, and reduces the deficit even more than the original bill. The package of improvements, which passed the House and Senate today, stripped out special deals that favored one state over another. This bill also makes an historic investment in student aid to help American families and students pay for college.

"These improvements will finish the job of reforming health care in America and provide immediate benefits to Americans in the third district and across the country," said Congresswoman Brown.  "Health care will become more affordable for middle class families, and seniors get an even better deal on prescription drugs. And I’m proud to say this saves taxpayers even more money in what is the largest deficit reduction measure in nearly two decades."

The reconciliation bill also includes the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) - the single largest investment in college aid in history. It will change the way the student loan system functions by originating all new loans through the government’s Direct Loan program, but will maintain competition among private lenders and non-profits to provide top-notch customer service for student borrowers and save American jobs. By reforming the federal student loan system, taxpayers will save $61 billion over 10 years while expanding access to an affordable college education to more American students and building a world-class community college system.

"Students and families can now borrow more affordably and apply for larger Pell Grants, as well as strengthen our community colleges and minority-serving institutions, and help ensure that we have the most highly skilled, cutting-edge and effective workforce in the world," said the Congresswoman.

Under reform in Florida:

• 4 million residents who do not currently have insurance and 1.1 million residents who have non group insurance could get affordable coverage through the health insurance exchange;
  
• 2.5 million residents could qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health coverage;
  
• 3.2 million seniors would receive free preventive services;
  
• 565,000 seniors would have their brand-name drug costs in the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" halved;
  
• 216,000 small businesses could be helped by a small business tax credit to make premiums more affordable.

For Florida's third district, the health care reform bill will:

• Improve coverage for 300,000 residents with health insurance;
  
• Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 192,000 families and 18,400 small businesses to help them afford coverage;
  
• Improve Medicare for 93,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole;
  
• Extend coverage to 132,000 uninsured residents;
  
• Guarantee that 20,500 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage;
  
• Protect 1400 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs;
  
• Allow 61,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents' insurance plans;
  
• Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 26 community health centers;
  
• Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $80

###