Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Conyers Jr, (D-MI) released the following statement today on key components of the Affordable Care Act that will go into effect on January 1, 2011.  House Republicans are attempting to repeal the health reform law as one of their first legislative acts of the 112^th Congress:

“The passage of the Affordable Care Act in the 111^th Congress was an historic first step towards the creation of a high quality universal health care system in America. Some of the key provisions of the health reform law that took effect earlier this month include the requirement that insurers spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on medical care, which is lower then what they currently pay. This provision should translate into a reduction of monthly insurance premiums for many middle class families. Furthermore, primary care physicians and general surgeons will receive a 10 percent increase in their Medicare reimbursement, which means more doctors and clinics will have a financial incentive to treat those who have Medicare coverage. Senior citizens who are caught in the doughnut hole will now have a 50 percent reduction in the costs of their prescription drugs, and their preventative health screens and annual physicals will now be fully covered.

There is no way that the lawmakers in Congress who were responsible for passage of the health reform law will allow it to be repealed in the 112^th Congress. The repeal of health reform would be a disservice to the millions of middle class families who will benefit from numerous provisions in the bill, which dramatically improve access to quality care for the insured and the uninsured. We will continue to fight to preserve these gains for the American people in the months and years to come, while also focusing on creating jobs for the middle class. The majority of the American people support the idea of creating a universal health care system, a robust public option, and covering the uninsured.

Representative Fred Upton, (R-MI) recently stated on Fox News that he believes that there are Democrats in the House and Senate who will vote with Republicans to repeal health reform.

I believe it is unlikely that any pro-reform Members of Congress will call for the repeal of the provision that allows children to remain on their parent’s health insurance policy up to the age of 26.  It is similarly unlikely they will support a repeal of the expansion of Medicaid to 15 million low-income Americans, including men without children.  These provisions of the health reform law are immensely popular because there are millions of Americans who are struggling to find adequate coverage for themselves and their children.

Furthermore, the incoming House Leadership are willing to skirt time honored Congressional protocol, and not allow for any official Committee hearings and markups of the repeal bill. Members of the 111^th Congress spent almost a year marking up the health reform law in three House committees, and allowed for robust and open floor debate on the House floor before the health reform law was passed. This is a sharp contrast to the current repeal effort, which is occurring without any discussion or real substantive debate. This is highly irresponsible, and it is not what the American people want to see in Congress.

Repealing the entire health reform law and passing the Republican’s preferred alternative bill would only cover a small fraction of the nation’s 47 million uninsured. We would go back to an America that left millions of Americans vulnerable and without viable health insurance. Moreover, such an effort may create a system even worse then the one we just improved. Insurance companies may once again be able to drop people when they become ill or deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.  Seniors may once again face an increase in their prescription drug costs period.

Although not a perfect bill, President Obama and Congress made an unprecedented commitment to provide health care to all Americans when health reform was passed.  Health reform must remain intact; millions of Americans need health insurance now.

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