Washington, D.C.–On Saturday, November 7, I joined the House of Representatives in passing America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, legislation that will strengthen our health care system by extending coverage to millions of Americans who do not have it, making insurance more affordable for those who do, and not adding to the national debt.
Health care spending comprises almost one-fifth of our economy, and will be an even greater burden on businesses and families in the future unless fundamental improvements are made. A recent report by the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation predicts that in just ten years, the average family plan will cost $30,000 per year. This bill is designed to make health insurance more affordable and secure for all Americans.
If you have health coverage and like it, the new bill will not force you to change your plan or your doctor. The goal is to protect the doctor-patient relationship and the doctor’s decision-making ability, which is critical to effective health care. For those who do not have coverage, the bill creates a national marketplace of competing insurance plans, offering minimum benefits, as well as a limited public plan for the uninsured and small businesses. Since 2000, premiums have more than doubled, including for most small businesses. These rising premiums have become one of the largest cost concerns for our small businesses, and the goal of this bill is to foster greater competition among insurers and lower premiums.
As hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers know, having health care one day doesn’t necessarily mean you will have it the next. Under our current system, if you lose your job, you often lose your access to affordable health care as well. By creating the new marketplace and providing affordability credits, working- and middle-class families will be guaranteed access to affordable insurance policies that provide a good standard of care regardless of their job status.
This legislation also strengthens care for seniors by immediately improving Medicare and curtailing age discrimination by insurers. The bill will help close Medicare’s “donut hole” gap in prescription drug coverage for seniors, and for those seniors in the “donut hole”, the bill will cut in half the price of name-brand drugs. It also caps the premiums private insurance companies can charge older Americans because of their age.
For years, many people with diabetes, arthritis, and other conditions have been turned down for health insurance. The Affordable Health Care for America Act would finally prohibit insurers from denying coverage for “pre-existing conditions.” This bill also prevents illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded insurance. As a pro-life member of Congress, I want to also state that this legislation prohibits any federal funds from being used to pay for abortion-related services.
Even though it is important to make health care more secure and to lower health care costs, it is just as important to ensure this reform is accomplished in a way that reduces our deficit. The legislation passed by the House of Representatives has been judged by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to reduce the deficit by $110 billion over the next ten years. I will continue to work nonstop to reduce the deficit even further, as there is nothing more important to our nation’s future than creating jobs and reducing the deficit.
This legislation is not perfect, and I am working hard to make it better. It will not become law until merged with legislation from the United States Senate. As the process moves forward, I will continue to advocate for a final bill to include additional cost reductions that would reduce our deficit even further.
I know this is a big decision, but if reform fails, out-of-pocket spending will continue to rise, more Americans will go without health care, more businesses will drop their coverage, and long-term government spending on Medicare and Medicaid is guaranteed to grow until the programs are no longer solvent. In fact, at our current rate of spending, Medicare is expected to run out of money by 2017. Our families, seniors, and businesses can no longer afford to shoulder the costs of the status quo.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas about how to improve this legislation before it becomes law, give my office a call. It would be great to hear your ideas. It is a privilege to serve as your Representative.
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