Response from local NJ congressman. You make the call.
On Sunday March 21, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, with my support, that will make health insurance coverage accessible to all uninsured Americans, provide all those who are currently insured with more security and control over their own health care, lower costs for everyone over the long term, and reduce our national deficit. This law makes history, as the most significant commitment to the quality of life and financial security of all Americans, since the creation of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The national conversation about health care reform has been ongoing for nearly a century, since the time of President Theodore Roosevelt. Over the last fourteen months, throughout my district and many others, this legislation has been debated thoroughly in the halls of Congress, at town hall meetings, in boardrooms and around kitchen tables all across America. Virtually every argument for and against this legislation has been carefully considered.
For years, the status-quo has made access to health care increasingly more expensive and unattainable for many American families, individuals, and businesses. Health insurance has become so unaffordable for so many, that now more than 36 million Americans are uninsured, and many more are sadly joining those ranks daily. Last year, half of Americans postponed or skipped medical care because they simply could not afford it. Unforeseen medical bills caused 62% of all bankruptcies in our country. This should never happen in the United States of America, and this new law will make sure that it never does again.
There have been many myths and misrepresentations that have circulated about this legislation. Here are the facts:
Seniors have been particularly concerned about health care reform -- they have nothing to worry about. Here is why:
o This law will not reduce Medicare benefits. In fact, in endorsing the legislation, the AARP confirmed that the bill "protects and strengthens guaranteed benefits in Medicare" and "improves efforts to crack down on fraud and waste in Medicare, strengthening the program for today's and future generations of seniors."
o The Medicare Trust Fund, which is currently projected to run out of money by 2017, will be extended at least through 2026.
o Immediately after enactment, seniors who fall into the "Donut Hole" will receive a $250 rebate. Starting in 2011, seniors will receive a 50% discount on all brand-name drugs for those in the Donut Hole. By 2020, the Donut Hole will be eliminated entirely!
o Seniors will also benefit from better chronic care, with doctors working together to provide patient-centered help for the 80% of older Americans who have at least one chronic medical condition, like high blood pressure, or diabetes.
o The new law will also increase Medicare payments to doctors for primary care, protecting access to these vital services for seniors.
o Finally, it will encourage reimbursing health care providers based on the quality of health care, rather than its quantity, taking away incentives to subject seniors to procedures and tests they do not need.
Under this law, no federal money will be provided to fund abortion, cover illegal immigrants, ration health care, or deny portability. There is nothing in this act that will force you to change the insurance or the doctor you have now. Given the savings produced by this law, it will not add to the deficit, but will, in fact -- according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office -- reduce the deficit by $138 billion in the first ten years after its enactment, and save an additional $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years!
In addition, several other very important provisions will take effect immediately:
o They will allow for immediate access to health insurance coverage, without discrimination, for children with pre-existing conditions.
o Provide coverage, through a temporary high-risk pool for adult Americans with pre-existing conditions, until 2014 when the Health Insurance Exchanges (the "Exchanges") are fully operational.
o Place a ban on lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on coverage that currently force people into bankruptcy when they suffer from a severe chronic illness or experience a catastrophic injury.
o Allow young people to remain on their parents' insurance policies until their 26th birthday.
o Provide tax credits to small businesses to make employee coverage more affordable.
o Require insurance companies to spend at least 80% of premium dollars on medical services, rather than on executives' paychecks or marketing.
Over the next few years, the remainder of the law will go into effect:
o Insurance companies will be banned from denying coverage of any pre-existing conditions.
o Health Insurance Exchanges will be created in each state: marketplaces where uninsured Americans and small businesses will be able to shop for quality, affordable, private health insurance. Those who previously purchased their insurance directly, or those who had no insurance, will now have access to greater choices of policies, at lower costs given the expanded pool of insured individuals. Members of Congress and their staff will be required to obtain health insurance through the same Exchanges.
o Consumers will be able to purchase out-of-state plans, while retaining the protections of their home state's insurance regulations.
o Middle class Americans with annual incomes below $88,200 for a family of four, or individuals making less than $43,320 will receive tax credits to help them afford insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical costs. This amounts to the biggest middle class tax cut for individuals, families, and small businesses for health care in U.S. history!
o Small businesses with less than 100 employees will also be able to join the Exchanges, benefiting from group rates, lower costs and a greater choice of insurers. Small businesses with 25 employees or less, with wages of less than $50,000 per employee, will qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance to their employees. Sole proprietors will be able to deduct the full cost of their own health insurance. Small businesses will be able to pay less for their employees' insurance policies, and thereby free vital capital to invest in hiring new employees.
From the very beginning, one of my goals has been to make certain that the "best and the brightest" continue to pursue the field of medicine. That is why I was so pleased that this legislation invests in the high quality training of more primary care doctors, nurses, and health care professionals, and increases payments to primary care doctors under Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, each state will be provided with monies to develop and implement systems to reduce frivolous law suits and the practice of "defensive" medicine. More can and should be done with tort reform, but this was an important first step toward these goals.
That is why more than 325 organizations, representing millions of Americans, have endorsed this bill, including the AARP, the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the American Cancer Society, the Main Street Alliance, the Consumer Federation of America, 59,000 Catholic nuns, the National Catholic Reporter, the Catholic Health Care Association, the Lutheran Health Network, the United Methodist Church, the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church, the AFL-CIO, the American Heart Association, the Children's Defense Fund, the National Association of Children's Hospitals, and the League of Women Voters, among many others.
I made the decision to vote in favor of this legislation only after spending hundreds of hours in meetings and hearings, poring over every proposal for reform, meeting with members of the health care industry, hearing the opinions of my constituents in the fourteen town hall meetings that I hosted, reading thousands of their letters and emails, and talking with them on the phone and throughout my district. I am confident that this law will make marked improvements in the lives of my constituents, and will begin to correct the problems in our present system that cause so much waste, heartache and tragedy for so many Americans.
Sincerely,
Mr X
Member of Congress :
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Why didn't the American people get to vote on this "HISTORIC" bill?:censor:.........:bs: