Democrats put American families in control of their own health care and ended a system that put profits ahead of patients with the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. And today, 165 million Americans with private insurance and 48 million seniors and disabled Americans with Medicare are enjoying lower or slowed growth in health care costs and better coverage.
The Affordable Care Act is already helping to slow the growth of health care costs, while ensuring Americans have access to quality, affordable health care. The law includes a “Patients’ Bill of Rights,” which contains provisions that have begun to end the worst insurance company abuses and provide better private insurance protections. Now, children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be discriminated against by insurance companies – a protection that extends to all Americans by 2014. Parents can now keep their children on their insurance plans up to age 26. Insurance companies are no longer allowed to put lifetime limits on coverage or drop people when they get sick. Insurance companies are also required to spend at least 80% of your premium dollars on health care benefits – as opposed to advertising, CEO salaries or shareholder dividends. The law also provides $40 billion in tax credits to help small businesses provide insurance to their employees.
While Democrats fought for these new benefits for American families and small businesses, Republicans are trying to repeal these patient protections and put insurance companies back in control of health care. Despite their promises to do so, they have not offered an alternate legislative plan to slow the growth of health care costs, stop insurance company abuses, ensure all Americans can access affordable health coverage, and reduce the deficit.
Democrats consistently fight to strengthen the Medicare program and the Affordable Care Act is yet another example of that. Two years after health care reform was enacted, Medicare’s costs – from premiums and deductibles to overall program spending – have decreased or slowed. The law improves prevention benefits, providing seniors with access to a free annual wellness visit and ending co-insurance for preventive benefits. The law also makes prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. Today, any senior in the Medicare Part D coverage gap, known as the “donut hole,” will see a 50% discount on their brand name drugs – and that discount increases over time, expanding to include generic drugs, until the donut hole is completely eliminated. Beneficiaries also have more Medicare Advantage choices, with enrollment increasing by 10% this year, and by 17% since the Affordable Care Act was enacted.
Last year, Republicans put forward a budget that ends the Medicare guarantee, ends the benefits seniors are now seeing and increases health care costs for seniors by more than $6,000. Their budget also cuts Medicaid, jeopardizing access to and quality of health care for seniors, the disabled and children. Their plan has proved to be deeply unpopular with the American people, but Republicans intend to put forward a similar budget this week that ends the Medicare guarantee and attempts to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class, seniors, and the most vulnerable among us.
In addition to the Affordable Care Act, Democrats are focused on other ways to improve health care for Americans. In February 2009, Democrats fought to enact the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization despite Republican opposition. The program currently provides health insurance for more than 7 million children through 2014, when the reform law will take full effect and children will have a variety of new options for coverage. In addition, Democrats passed the bipartisan Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to better regulate tobacco products, including the authority to approve new products and regulate tobacco marketing, particularly to children.
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