Health Care
Health care is a basic human right which should not be denied to anyone based on their ability to pay. It is my goal to ensure Americans a basic safety net of services so illness doesn’t lead to bankruptcy, including universal health insurance with a public option.
FALSE CLAIMS:
The health insurance reform measures passed by the U.S. House and Senate are extraordinarily complex pieces of legislation that will affect millions of Americans. Given the scale and scope of the proposed reforms it is critical that our elected officials in Washington, D.C., stick to the facts when communicating with constituents. Unfortunately, most of Kansas’ Congressional delegation has done anything but. According to an editorial published in the Wichita Eagle, “Republicans in Kansas’ congressional delegation, continue to claim things about the [health care] legislation that are contradicted by independent sources such as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.” [1] I agree with the Wichita Eagle, “it would be nice if the state’s well-insured lawmakers would go easy on the hyperbole and focus their criticism of the health reform on the facts.” [2]
THE FACTS:
- The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010: passed the Senate on December 24, 2009, 60-39, the House of Representatives on March 21, 2010 and was signed into law two days later on March 23, 2010.[3] According to the Congressional Budget Office, an independent and nonpartisan federal agency, the bill “would establish a mandate for most legal residents of the United States to obtain health insurance; set up insurance exchanges through which certain individuals and families could receive federal subsidies to substantially reduce the cost of purchasing that coverage; significantly expand eligibility for Medicaid; substantially reduce the growth of Medicare’s payment rates for most services (relative to the growth rates projected under current law); impose an excise tax on insurance plans with relatively high premiums; and make various other changes to the federal tax code, Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs.”[4] Following its passage a reconciliation bill was passed by the House on March 21, 2010, on a 220-211 vote, and passed in the Senate on March 26, 2010, by means of budget reconciliation with a vote of 56-43.[3]
- Cost– According to the Congressional Budget Office, the reconciliation bill, combined with the passed Senate legislation, would reduce federal deficits by $143 billion over the next ten years.[5]
- Effects – The bill would cover an additional 32 million uninsured Americans out of the current 45 million uninsured.[5]
- Public Option – None, following Sen. Reid’s amendment. However, as an alternative, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which oversees benefits for all civilian federal workers and members of Congress, would contract with private insurers to offer multistate plans on the insurance exchange.
- Funding – One large goal of reform is to make current health care systems more effective, and with this in mind legislation will attempt to use current funds for things such as subsidies to insurance companies to fund the new legislation.[6] The legislation will also include a Medicare payroll tax hike to 0.9 percent, from 0.5 percent earlier, on individuals earning more than $200,000 or families making more than $250,000.
There will also be new penalties for companies that don’t provide health insurance. These penalties include $750 times the number of full-time workers for any company employing more than 50 persons if just one worker of that company obtains subsidized insurance through an exchange.
[3] Timothy Noah, Health Reform: An Online Guide, Slate, March 30, 2010.
[4] Congressional Budget Office Letter to Senator Harry Reid, December 19, 2009.
[5] Congressional Budget Office Letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (March 20, 2010).
[6] A Summary of Health Care and Revenue Provisions.
Electronic Copy of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 available here.
Electronic Copy of The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 available here.
