CONGRESSWOMAN JOHNSON PRAISES FREE PREVENTIVE CARE BENEFITS FROM HEALTH CARE REFORM

Washington, DC(Wednesday, July 14, 2010) – Today, Congresswoman Johnson applauded the new regulations issued by the Obama Administration  to help make prevention affordable by requiring new health plans to cover recommended preventive services at no cost to the patient.  The regulations, based off of provisions in the Affordable Care Act, will keep Americans healthier and help save money over the long term by increasing access to preventive care.

“We know that many Americans don’t get the preventive care they need because of the cost.  Seven in ten deaths in America result from chronic and often preventable diseases – this is unacceptable,” said Congresswoman Johnson.  “Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, free preventive care now will keep many Texans healthier and save money in the long run.” 

Thanks to this reform, Americans who enroll in a new health plan on or after September 23, 2010, will have access to preventive services without being charged a deductible, copayment or coinsurance.

Next year, an estimated 41 million Americans will benefit from these new prevention provisions -- 31 million in new employer plans and 10 million in new individual plans.  By 2013, an estimated 88 million Americans will benefit from the provisions – 78 million in new employer plans and 10 million in new individual plans.

Comprehensive preventive care can save billions of dollars and thousands of lives.  There are 69 million workers reporting missed days due to illness each year, which reduces economic output in this country by $260 billion per year.  Every dollar spent on immunizations could save $5.30 on direct health care costs.  However, the costs of these services are often prohibitive, and Americans currently use preventive services at only half the recommended rate. 

“While Democrats are fighting to give all Americans access to free preventive care, Republicans are threatening to repeal this benefit and all of the benefits of historic health care reform,” said Congresswoman Johnson.  “This is one of the many important reforms Democrats created to save working families money and put them – not insurance companies - in control of their health care.” 

Depending on your age and health risks, the types of preventive services that will be available without a deductible, co-pay or co-insurance under these new provisions include:

• Blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol tests;
• Many cancer screenings;
• Routine vaccines for diseases such as measles, polio, or meningitis;
• Flu and pneumonia shots;
• Counseling, screening and vaccines for healthy pregnancies; and
• Regular well-baby and well-child visits, from birth to age 21.

Americans are beginning to see the benefits of health reform. Seniors who are affected by the Medicare prescription drug ‘donut hole’ coverage gap are receiving checks to lower their costs,  4 million small businesses have received notice that they are eligible for a health care tax credit potentially worth tens of thousands of dollars to help them cover their employees, young adults are starting to be allowed to stay on their parents’ insurance, insurance companies have stopped their practice of rescissions – or dropping people’s coverage when they need it most, and some outrageous premium hikes have been reversed.

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek,Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.