Results tagged “health care reform” from EdLabor Journal

Rep. George Miller, Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, delivers his comments during the floor debate on H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care For America Act on November 7, 2009.



Rep. George Miller, Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, delivers a rebuttal to the proposed Republican amendment during the floor debate on H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care For America Act, on November 7, 2009.

Big news yesterday as the nation's largest senior citizen group AND the nation's largest organization of doctors both offered support for the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The [AARP], which has been pushing for a health overhaul for more than a year, had withheld a formal endorsement of any of the healthcare bills being developed by congressional Democrats.

That endorsement was followed by an announcement at about 10 a.m. Pacific time from the American Medical Assn. in which the nation's largest doctors group voiced its support for the measure.

AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said today that the group saw the House Democratic bill as the most promising proposal.

...

The AMA's support for the House bill comes ahead of a critical policymaking meeting of its House of Delegates in Houston that begins Saturday. The organization is being asked by some constituencies, at the eleventh hour, to back away from supporting healthcare reform.

"These bills go far beyond what is necessary to fix what is broken with our healthcare system, and they grant the federal government considerable new powers and authority, which could ultimately amount to a complete government takeover of healthcare, and which is anathema to doctors and patients," reads a resolution introduced by the American Assn. of Neurological Surgeons, the American Society of General Surgeons and the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The resolution was also supported by AMA delegations from Georgia and Washington, D.C.

Learn why these groups and many, many others support the Affordable Health Care for America Act at our clearinghouse page.

Ezra Klein at the Washington Post passes along a new academic paper by MIT health economist Jon Gruber. Mr. Gruber has looked at the health care proposals being considered by Congress and has found that the reforms will lower insurance premiums.

One of those states is Massachusetts, which passed health-care reform similar to the one contemplated at the federal level in mid-2006. The major aspects of this reform took place in 2007, notably the introduction of large subsidies for low-income populations, a merged nongroup and small group insurance market, and a mandate on individuals to purchase health insurance. And the results have been an enormous reduction in the cost of nongroup insurance in the state: The average individual premium in the state fell from $8,537 at the end of 2006 to $5,143 in mid-2009, a 40 percent reduction, while the rest of the nation was seeing a 14 percent increase.

You can read the rest of Mr. Gruber's paper here.(MS Word document)

The New York Times ran an editorial on Saturday discussing individual mandates and affordability. It covers the key areas of:

• Why is a mandate necessary? [Those without coverage drive up costs for those with coverage]
  
• Will premiums go up or down? [They would go down]
  
• Will there be help? [Yes]
  
• What's affordable? [The House bill provides affordability tax credits for families of 4 up to $88,000]
• Has it been tried? [Yes, successfully]
  
• Which version is more affordable? [The House bill]
  

See the editorial for a complete explanation of how this would work and how it would improve access to quality, stable, affordable health care.

In another column today, E.J. Dionne correctly points out that, while the mandates and subsidies don't start until 2013, there are 14 benefits that start immediately.

That's why the most important document House Democrats released when they unveiled their bill last week was a list of 14 benefits that would be created immediately.

These include insurance reforms to ban lifetime limits on coverage and an end to "rescissions," under which insurers abruptly nullify patients' policies after they file claims. One of the most popular reforms in the bill -- barring insurers from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions -- wouldn't take effect until later. So the House bill creates an interim high-risk pool to help those who need coverage in the meantime.

There are also particular benefits for Medicare recipients, including an immediate reduction in drug costs, and a very popular provision that would allow parents to keep their children on the family health plan through age 26.

Especially important are new investments in community health centers and in efforts to increase the number of primary care doctors. As millions more people get access to decent care, the system will have to provide more doctors, nurses and facilities to treat them.

"People will be excited about 2013," said Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, which shares jurisdiction on the health-care bill. "But there are enough benefits between now and then to keep them engaged and to keep them favorably disposed."

Learn more about the Affordable Health Care for America Act [H.R. 3962] and how reform will slow the growth in out-of-control costs, introduce competition into the health care marketplace to keep coverage affordable and insurers honest, protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and assure all Americans access to quality, stable, affordable health care.

For the first time in U.S. history, all Americans would have access to quality, affordable health care under updated health insurance reform legislation passed by the House on November 7, 2009, by a vote of 220-215.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act [H.R. 3962], which blends and updates the three versions of previous bills passed by the House committees of jurisdiction in July, embodies President Obama’s key goals for health reform. It will slow the growth in out-of-control costs, introduce competition into the health care marketplace to keep coverage affordable and insurers honest, protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and assure all Americans access to quality, stable, affordable health care.

The key components of the Affordable health Care for America Act include:

Increasing choice and competition. The bill will protect and improve consumers’ choices.

• If people like their current plans, they will be able to keep them.
• For individuals who aren’t currently covered by their employer, and some small businesses, the proposal will establish a new Health Insurance Exchange where consumers can comparison shop from a menu of affordable, quality health care options that will include private plans, health co-ops, and a new public health insurance option. The public health insurance option will play on a level playing field with private insurers, spurring additional competition.
• This Exchange will create competition based on quality and price that leads to better coverage and care. Patients and doctors will have control over decisions about their health care, instead of insurance companies.

Giving Americans peace of mind. The legislation will ensure that Americans have portable, secure health care coverage – so that they won’t lose care if their employer drops their plan or they lose their job.

• Every American who receives coverage through the Exchange will have a plan that includes standardized, comprehensive and quality health care benefits.
• It will end increases in premiums or denials of care based on pre-existing conditions, race, or gender, and strictly limit age rating.
• The proposal will also eliminate co-pays for preventive care, and cap out-of-pocket expensesto protects every American from bankruptcy.

Improving quality of care for every American. The legislation will ensure that Americans of all ages, from young children to retirees have access to greater quality of care by focusing on prevention, wellness, and strengthening programs that work.

• Guarantees that every child in America will have health care coverage that includes dental, hearing and vision benefits.
• Provides better preventive and wellness care. Every health care plan offered through the exchange and by employers after a grace period will cover preventive care at no cost to the patient.
• Increases the health care workforce to ensure that more doctors and nurses are available to provide quality care as more Americans get coverage.
• Strengthens Medicare and Medicaid and closes the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole’ so that seniors and low-income Americans receive better quality of care and see lower prescription drug costs and out-of-pocket expenses.

Ensuring shared responsibility. The bill will ensure that individuals, employers, and the federal government share responsibility for a quality and affordable health care system.

• Employers can continue offering coverage to workers, and those who choose not to offer coverage contribute a fee of eight percent of payroll.
• All individuals will generally be required to get coverage, either through their employer or the exchange, or pay a penalty of 2.5 percent of income, subject to a hardship exemption.
• The federal government will provide affordability credits, available on a sliding scale for low- and middle-income individuals and families to make premiums affordable and reduce cost-sharing.

Protecting consumers and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse. The legislation will put the interests of consumers first, protect them from problems in getting and keeping health care coverage, and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.

• Provides transparency in plans in the Health Exchange so that consumers have the clear, complete information, in plain English, needed to select the plan that best meets their needs.
• Establishes consumer advocacy offices as part of the Exchange in order to protect consumers, answer questions, and assist with any problems related to their plans.
• Simplifies paperwork and other administrative burdens. Patients, doctors, nurses, insurance companies, providers, and employers will all encounter a streamlined, less confusing, more consumer friendly system.
• Increases funding of efforts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse; creates enhanced oversight of Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Reducing the deficit and ensuring the solvency of Medicare and Medicaid. The legislation will be entirely paid for – it will not add a dime to the deficit. It will also put Medicare and Medicaid on the path to a more fiscally sound future, so seniors and low-income Americans can continue to receive the quality health care benefits for years to come.

• Pays for the entire cost of the legislation though a combination of savings achieved by making Medicare and Medicaid more efficient – without cutting seniors’ benefits in any way – and  revenue generated from placing a surcharge the top 0.3 percent of all households in the U.S.(married couples with adjusted gross income of over $1,000,000) and other tax measures.
• The Congressional Budget estimates the bill will reduce the deficit by at least $100 billion over ten years.
• Estimates also show the bill will slow the rate of growth of the Medicare program from 6.6 percent annually to 5.3 percent annually.

The House Committee on Education and Labor hosted CNBC's Squawk Box in the hearing room this morning. Here is the interview with Rep. George Miller about health care reform and the economy.

Our health insurance reform effort is about two things: making insurance secure and affordable to those who have it, and ensuring access to affordable, quality coverage for those who don’t.

Too many Americans have to fight with insurance companies over basic care -- being excluded for pre-existing conditions, facing outrageous medical bills, or appealing again and again to have a much-needed procedure approved.  If you have had trouble with your insurance company, I’d like to hear about it.  This is too important, and we're too close to the finish line, to falter now -- your stories will help me make the case for real health insurance reform.


We have proposed specific and important insurance reforms to:  

• Guarantee that you will not be denied coverage based on a so-called pre-existing condition
• Limit out-of-pocket expenses to protect families from medical-related bankruptcy
• Make your insurance policy transparent so you know what you’re paying for
• Prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage when you get sick
• Prevent insurance companies from charging people different rates based on gender, health status, or occupation.

 
Our reforms would guarantee that your medical care is decided by you and your doctor, not insurance companies.  That’s the way it ought to be.

Learn the basic principles of President Obama's health insurance reform plan as presented to Congress on September 9, 2009.

E.J. Dionne has a column in the Washington Post today that tries to tell the real town hall story. Despite polls showing again and again that the majority of Americans are in favor of reforming our health care system, the media played up a few loud and disruptive town halls.

Mr. Dionne says:

Over the past week, I've spoken with Democratic House members, most from highly contested districts, about what happened in their town halls. None would deny polls showing that the health-reform cause lost ground last month, but little of the probing civility that characterized so many of their forums was ever seen on television.

"I think the media coverage has done a disservice by falling for a trick that you'd think experienced media hands wouldn't fall for: of allowing loud voices to distort the debate," said Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, whose district includes Columbus, Ohio.

At her town halls, she said, "I got serious questions, I got hostile questions, I got questions about how this would work, I got questions about how much it will cost. I also got a lot of comments from people who said it's important for their families and businesses to get health-care reform."

Rep. Frank Kratovil hails from a very conservative district that includes Maryland's Eastern Shore and says it didn't bother him that he was hung in effigy in July by a right-wing group. "As a former prosecutor, I consider that to be mild," he said with a chuckle. The episode, he added, was not at all typical of his town-hall meetings, where "most of the people were there to express legitimate concerns about the bill, wondering about how it was going to impact them" and wanting "to know the truth about some of the things that were being said about the bill."

The most disturbing account came from Rep. David Price of North Carolina, who spoke with a stringer for one of the television networks at a large town-hall meeting he held in Durham.

The stringer said he was one of 10 people around the country assigned to watch such encounters. Price said he was told flatly: "Your meeting doesn't get covered unless it blows up." As it happens, the Durham audience was broadly sympathetic to reform efforts. No "news" there.

Instead of listening to the loudest voices, we encourage you to learn for yourself how health care reform will affect you with this nifty interactive webpage and by visiting our clearinghouse of information. We, also, encourage you to read Mr. Dionne's entire article.

The USA Today Editorial board wrote their view on health care: Dispute over ‘public option’ veers into fantasyland. They said this about the public option provision in the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.

This entirely voluntary plan — that's why it's called an "option" — would bring some cost control to health care by applying government's purchasing power as leverage against medical providers and insurance companies. Yet the idea is cynically cast as a "government takeover of health care" — rhetoric worthy of the Mad Hatter.

The editorial board then points out a well-known fact that the government already pays a large percentage of health care costs and the cost of inaction would lead to health care costs consuming 25% of GDP in 2025.

The dirty secret of our health care system is that it already is dependent on government or, more precisely, government waste. More than 46% of all medical service in the USA, about $1 trillion annually, is paid for directly by taxpayers. Private insurers cover 42%, and the remainder is paid out of pocket. In addition to what government pays directly, it pumps in more than $200 billion a year in tax subsidies.

If Washington does nothing, this government role will only get a lot bigger as the population ages, providers hike prices and private coverage becomes increasingly unaffordable.

We encourage you to read the entire editorial and learn more about the America's Affordable Health Choices Act.

There has been an email going around with a line-by-line critique of HR 3200 - the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act. Unfortunately, they are not based in truth, but designed to scare recipients. The email is quite long, so for some of the most egregious distortions of the health insurance reform legislation, please visit the Pulitzer prize-winning fact check site run by The St. Petersburg Times. Please note the spelling is in the original e-mail.


Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit the books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
 

• Page 22 of H.R. 3200 requests a study, not an audit, of the effects to which rating rules are likely to cause adverse selection in the large group market and employer self insurance market insurance market. This does not require an audit of ALL employers that self insure

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benes u get

• Nothing in the bill infringes upon you and your doctor’s ability to make medical decisions.  The National Health Benefits Advisory Council is not a “government committee” but is made up of providers, consumer representatives, employers, labor, health insurance issuers, independent experts and representatives of government agencies.  They will make recommendations about minimum standards of care and covered benefits that insurance companies have to offer- ensuring that everyone has a health plan that provides them with adequate coverage. 

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!

• This is a misreading of the text.  This section limits the amount of out-of-pocket costs you will face to $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 (indexed to CPI) for a family for a basic package of care.  This ensures you have access to affordable care and won’t go bankrupt paying for it.

Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose UR HC Benefits 4 you. U have no choice!

• The Health Choices Commissioner is charged with ensuring insurance plans are meeting regulations and minimum standards as well as administering affordability credits and monitoring the exchange.  Nothing in this section or in the larger bill permits the Health Choices Commissioner to choose your benefits for you

PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided 2 ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

• This is blatantly false.  This section prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against persons when issuing coverage, and has nothing to do with government subsidized coverage to illegal immigrants.  The bill explicitly states that no Federal payments will be used for affordability credits for illegal immigrants.  (P. 143, sec. 246). 

Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access 2 individuals' finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

• This section says nothing about a National ID health card, or accessing your personal financial information.  This section promotes administrative simplification- for example being able to look up your insurance coverage and determine how much you will pay and which provider your insurance will accept, at the point of service.  This saves money and gives you, the consumer, information about what you will owe at the front end, rather than being denied or getting a surprise bill from your insurance company weeks after your treatment.
  

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer

• This section encourages the development of standards to encourage electronic payments between providers and insurance companies.  Administrative simplification measures like these save billions of dollars.  Nothing will give the government access to your bank account.

PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan 4 retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).

• This section provides a limited reimbursement for participating employment-based private plans for part of the cost of providing health benefits to retirees (age 55-64) and their families.  People who have been forced into early retirement in this age group do not qualify for Medicare and this will help them stay on their employer provided, private insurance plan if their employer wants to participate.  Participation is voluntary. This is for all early retirees, and no language targets the provision towards unions or acorn.

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange 2 bring priv HC plans under Govt control.

• The bill imposes new regulations on private health care plans that will force them to end unethical practices such as rescissions or denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.  The Exchange will improve the quality of coverage and increase the affordability of private insurers in the Exchange.
  

PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs 4 priv. HC plans in the Exchange

• Insurance companies in the Exchange will have to offer a basic benefit packages in every service area.  This package will include basic care such as hospitalization, physician visits, medical equipment, mental health, preventative care, maternity and well baby care, and drugs – services that anyone would expect a real insurance policy to cover.  Private insurers may offer a higher tier of coverage with more benefits that are not mandated by the government if they choose.
  

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration ur Healthcare!

• No, this determines the minimum standards insurance companies must offer coverage for- it has nothing to do with rationing.  Private plans can offer extra benefits like dental or vision coverage for adults, or other non-covered benefits that are not included in the basic level plan.

PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic approp svcs. Example - Translation 4 illegal aliens

• The bill requires plans in the Exchange to offer culturally and linguistic appropriate services.  The U.S. is a diverse country culturally and linguistically.  Many legal residents and citizens of the U.S. speak other languages, and implying that everyone of a different culture in the U.S. is here illegally is intolerant and incorrect.  The bill explicitly states that it will not subsidize coverage for illegal immigrants.  (P. 143, sec. 246). 

Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps 2 sign up indiv. for Govt HC plan
 

• The Health Choices Commissioner will conduct outreach and enrollment activities to educate Exchange-eligible individuals and businesses about enrollment in the new Exchange, which includes many private plans along with the public option.  This includes a toll-free hotline, maintenance of a website, creation of outreach materials, and community locations for enrollment.
  

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members - U Health care WILL b rationed

• This section has nothing to do with seniors or Medicare. It describes the minimum benefits insurance plans must offer under the Exchange.

Today U.S. Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and George Miller (D-CA) highlighted the campaign of misinformation being waged by opponents of health insurance reform on a conference call with reporters today.  Independent fact check organizations have shown that opponents of health insurance reform have resorted to making outrageous and misleading claims about the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), while refusing to engage in a meaningful debate on the policy of reform.

Learn more here.

Congressional opponents of health care reform are claiming that a provision in the America’s Affordable Health Choice Act will start "us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia.” This is completely false.

The provision that opponents are alluding to is Section 1233. This bi-partisan provision would allow seniors, if they choose, to have an advanced care consultation with their doctor be paid for by Medicare once every five years, or more frequently if the patient has a life threatening disease. That is all. These consultations include "an explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title."

There is no reasonable basis for believing that a senior’s conversations with their doctor on the range of end-of-life care would do anything to promote euthanasia -- which is illegal in 48 states. Discussions between sick or elderly people and their doctors about end-of-life treatment have long been an accepted part of modern patient care. In 2003, a Bush administration agency issued a 20-page report outlining a five-part process for physicians to discuss end-of-life care with their patients and since 1990, Congress has required health-care agencies to inform patients about state laws regarding advance directives such as a living will.

Which leads to another myth: Patients will be forced to sign a living will. There is no mandate to sign a living will. If a patient chooses to complete a living will, those documents will help articulate a full range of treatment preferences, from full and aggressive treatment to limited, comfort care only.

The Committee wishes these were just the occasional rumor, but, unfortunately, even President Obama was asked these questions yesterday at a town hall. The President responded with, “I think that the only thing that may have been proposed in some of the bills -- and I actually think this is a good thing -- is that it makes it easier for people to fill out a living will.”

The Committee is working hard to ensure that America’s Affordable Health Choices Act works for Seniors, and to ensure that the American people have the facts about how health care reform will help them. The AARP endorses this bill because it includes several key provisions that improve Medicare benefits and health care for seniors, including:

• Protects your access to the doctor of your choice—incenting more family doctors to enter the profession and more doctors to practice in rural areas—and allowing all Americans to keep their current doctor.
• Phases in completely filling in the “donut hole” in the Medicare prescription drug benefit (where drug costs are not reimbursed at certain levels), potentially savings seniors thousands of dollars a year.
• Eliminates co-payments and deductibles for preventive services under Medicare.
• Limits cost-sharing requirements in Medicare Advantage plans to the amount charged for the same services in traditional Medicare coverage.
• Improves the low-income subsidy programs in Medicare, such as by increasing asset limits for programs that help Medicare beneficiaries pay premiums and cost-sharing.
• Computerizes medical records so seniors won’t have to take the same test over and over or relay their entire medical history every time they see a new provider.
• Starts rewarding doctors for the quality, not just the quantity, of care they provide.
• Extends solvency of Medicare by 5 years or more.

Today's New York Times' editorial strongly endorsed the America's Affordable Health Choices Act.

House Democratic leaders have unveiled a bill that would go a long way toward solving the nation's health insurance problems without driving up the deficit. It is already drawing fierce opposition from business groups and many Republicans. This is a bill worth fighting for.

The bill would require virtually all Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. And it would require all but the smallest businesses to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a substantial fee. It would also expand Medicaid to cover many more poor people, and it would create new exchanges through which millions of middle-class Americans could buy health insurance with the help of government subsidies. The result would be near-universal coverage at a surprisingly manageable cost to the federal government.

....

The legislation also includes some sound ideas for slowing the inexorable rise in health care costs. Such savings are also essential for the nation’s economic health. It adjusts Medicare reimbursements to encourage health care providers to improve productivity, reduce costly hospital readmissions and spend more time on primary care that can head off the need for costly specialists. It expands prevention and wellness activities.

And it establishes a center to compare the effectiveness of various drugs, devices and procedures. Unfortunately, it prohibits the government from requiring public or private insurers to set reimbursement policies based on the findings. These steps may not produce big savings quickly but could lower costs in future years.

The bill makes a mockery of Republican claims that the Democrats are pushing a hugely costly government takeover of medicine.

We encourage you to read the entire editorial, learn more about the America's Affordable Health Choices Act and watch today's markup.

Republicans and right wing commentators who oppose health care reform hope to turn our effort at lowering costs and expanding access into a debate about whether or not to tax small businesses.  In opposing our reform they would instead continue the hidden health care tax on all Americans that exceeds the surcharge on the highest income taxpayers that is included in the House bill.

Before you adopt their rhetoric, remember that nearly half of the cost of the House Democrats’ health plan would be paid by tight cost controls and forcing down the expense of the health care system.  That’s a top priority.  And as for who will pay higher taxes and who won’t under our plan, here are the cold facts.

Only the highest earning 1.2 percent of American households will pay a surcharge for health care reform.  That leaves 98.8 percent of American households who will not pay any surcharge at all.

As for small businesses, according to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation, only 4.1 percent of all small business owners will be affected by the health care surcharge. The remaining 95.9 percent of small business owners will be completely unaffected by the surcharge.  

Under our bill, a family making up to $350,000 in adjusted gross income (AGI) will not owe any surcharge at all, as President Obama has promised.  A family making $500,000 in AGI will contribute $1,500 to help reduce costs and provide access to affordable health care for all Americans – 0.3 percent of their annual income. And a family making $1 million in AGI will contribute $9,000, or 0.9 percent of their annual income.

Who are the highest earning 1.2 percent of all households?  They are the same households who over the past 20 years have seen a massive shift in wealth in their favor and who over the last 8 years received the lion’s share of President Bush’s tax cuts.

Between 2001 and 2010, the richest one percent of taxpayers alone will have received approximately $700 billion from the Bush tax cuts, according to Citizens for Tax Justice.  Those tax cuts for the wealthy one percent have been the biggest contributor to the record deficits wrung up during the Bush Administration – deficits that were passed along to President Obama in January.

The Washington Post put it another way.  They pointed out that over the past 20 years, the highest earning Americans have seen their tax burden go down and their share of national wealth rise.  The share of adjusted gross income claimed by the highest earning Americans doubled, from 11 percent to 22 percent.  
Meanwhile, average American working families have seen their wages stagnate, their health care costs spiral out of control, and their share of national wealth reduced.

Many Republicans and right wing commentators would do nothing to reform health care and would instead leave in place the hidden $1,800 a year tax on all Americans in the form of rapidly rising health insurance premiums caused by uncontrolled health care spending and the shared cost of covering the uninsured.

Congress faces a clear choice.  Our plan cuts more than $500 billion in health care spending and asks the richest 1.2 percent of all households to make a modest contribution of their income toward the remaining cost of our health care reform effort to reduce costs and strengthen our economy.  The main Republican plan --Just Do Nothing -- maintains the hidden tax on every business, large and small, and every American suffering under today’s broken health care system.

George Miller (D-CA) is chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the three principal authors of the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act” introduced this week.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (DCA),
chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, at a press conference to
introduce the House Tri-Committee legislation to reform health care, the America’s
Affordable Health Choices Act.
*****
Three weeks ago, we took a historic step forward in the critical quest to fix our broken
health insurance system. We presented a reform discussion draft to the Congress and the
American people.

Our three committees heard from over 70 stakeholders at hours of hearings on our draft.
We held discussions with our colleagues whose input has strengthened our effort.

Today, we are proud to introduce a health care reform bill based on our work so far, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.”

Our bill embraces the desires of the American people and meets the goals articulated by
President Obama -- to lower costs, preserve choice, and expand access to care. And our
bill addresses America’s economic and fiscal health and the medical well being of our
people.

Clearly, economic growth is compromised by spiraling health care costs and the rising
deficits fueled by unchecked and inefficient health care spending. That is why our bill
will curtail health care spending and be fully paid for. It will save more than $500
billion in health care expenditures that will drive down the cost of health care. And we
will not pass new costs on to future generations.

Let me be specific about what our bill means for average Americans:

LOWER COSTS FOR HEALTH CARE

• No more co-pays or deductibles for preventative care.
• No more rate increases because of a pre-existing condition, your gender, or
occupation.
• An annual cap on your out-of-pocket expenses.
• Group rates of a national pool if you buy your own plan.
• Guaranteed, affordable oral, hearing and vision care for your kids.

GREATER CHOICE OF CARE

• You can keep your doctor and your current plan if you like them.
• Your choices will be protected and enhanced. You will have access to a wide
variety of choices for quality and affordable plans, including a high-quality public
health insurance option to compete with private insurers.

HIGHER QUALITY OF CARE

• You and your doctors make health care decisions – not insurance companies.
• More family doctors and nurses will be able to enter the workforce, helping
guarantee you access to better treatment that meets your needs.
• Mental health care must be covered.

STABILITY AND PEACE OF MIND

• Never again will you go without health insurance.
• You will have the peace of mind knowing that you will never lose coverage if you
lose a job or switch jobs.
• You will never be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
• And you won’t face any lifetime limits on how much insurance companies will
pay – meaning you will never again be one treatment away from bankruptcy.

And our reforms will cover 97 percent of Americans by 2019.

Beginning this week, our committees will mark up our respective areas of jurisdiction.
Our Republican and Democratic colleagues have already been busy drafting amendments
to the bill and they will have the opportunity to offer their amendments.

We will continue to improve our bill by working with those with constructive ideas and
will endeavor to satisfy the many competing demands that naturally accompany a bill of
this scope and importance.

Not every change can be included nor every concern resolved. That is the legislative
process.

But we will -- this year -- produce a bill that is fair and fully paid for, that reduces costs
and preserves choice, and that expands access.

And it will be a major accomplishment for the American people.

The USA Today has a poll on their front page that shows Americans want a health care bill. On June 19th, House Democrats released a Discussion Draft that would reduce out-of-control costs, improve choices and competition for consumers and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. It would also guarantee that almost every American is covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

The USA Today poll found:

The poll of 3,026 adults, surveyed Friday through Sunday, has a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points. Some questions, asked of half the sample, have an error margin of +/-3 points.

By 56%-33%, those surveyed endorse the idea of enacting major health care changes this year. Just one in four say it's not important to them.

When it comes to financing the costs, six of 10 favor the idea of requiring employers to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a fee instead. Increasing income taxes on upper-income Americans, an approach backed by House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is endorsed by 58%. Just over half support taxing sugary soft drinks.

We encourage you to read the entire article and visit our webpage with many fact sheets about the Discussion Draft.