FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1st, 2011
CONTACT: David Simon
(202) 225-0123
(Washington, DC) - Congresswoman Brown made the following statement:
“I was first elected to Congress in 1992, and in all my years of service, I have worked to make affordable, quality health care available for ALL Americans. Indeed, for nearly a century, leaders from all over the political spectrum, beginning with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, have fought for health care and health insurance reform. In the words of the great former President Roosevelt, ‘the health of the people is a public concern; ill health is a major cause of suffering, economic loss, and dependency; good health is essential to the security and progress of the nation.’ Yet it wasn’t until 75 years later that our nation finally came together and passed the ‘Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,’ which provides health care access for all Americans. Prior to this, nearly one in five citizens in the wealthiest country in the world were uninsured. I applaud President Obama for his persistent, hard work on health care reform, and I was a proud cosponsor of the original Health Care legislation when it was first introduced in the House of Representatives. And although there is no such thing as a perfect bill, this law is a great start, and it needs to be left up to the medical specialists, not politically motivated - activist judges or politicians in Washington, to make slight changes to make it better.
The following are key components of the Affordable Care Act that went into effect as of January 1, 2011. These provisions require insurers to spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on medical care; cut government overpayments to insurance companies; give primary care physicians and general surgeons a 10 percent increase in their Medicare reimbursement; reduce the costs of prescription drugs for seniors and provide them with free preventive services:
For all health care consumers:
- *Health insurance companies are now required to spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on health care and quality improvements for patients—not on overhead or CEO salaries. Insurers who have not redirected premiums so that at least 80 percent goes to customer care will be required to provide a rebate to their customers starting in 2012.
For Seniors:
Increasing Reimbursement for Primary Care – Provides a 10 percent Medicare bonus payment for primary care physicians and general surgeons.
- *Seniors who reach the doughnut hole coverage gap for prescription drugs will receive a 50 percent discount when buying brand-name medications. Over the next ten years, seniors will receive additional discounts until the coverage gap is closed.
* Preventative Care – Seniors will receive free preventive services, such as annual checkups and certain preventative screenings.
* The Community Care Transitions Program will help high-risk Medicare beneficiaries who are hospitalized avoid unnecessary readmissions by coordinating care and connecting patients to services in their communities.
* The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will begin testing new ways of delivering care to patients. These new methods are expected to improve the quality of care and reduce the rate of growth in costs for Medicare and Medicaid.
Already the Affordable Care Act has opened up access to quality health care and helped small companies provide health insurance to their employees. Provisions that took effect in 2010 include:
* Prohibiting denial of coverage to children who were excluded due to pre-existing conditions.
* Extending coverage to young adults up to age 26 so they can stay covered as they start their careers.
* Delivering tax relief for small businesses to help them continue to provide health insurance to their workers.
* Creating a system to help early retirees not yet eligible for Medicare keep their savings and stay insured.
* Requiring all new plans to provide free preventative screenings including mammograms and colonoscopies.
* Ending insurance companies’ ability to rescind coverage when people get sick or impose lifetime caps on those with chronic illness.
* Investing millions into community health programs and helping states provide coverage for low income families through Medicaid.