Health Care

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.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the first time in America’s history, all Americans will have access to quality, affordable health care under updated health insurance reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today. The legislation will cover 96 percent of Americans by 2015, while reducing the deficit by tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. The House approved the measure by a vote of 220 to 215.

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a key architect of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, during consideration of the legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives today.


Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this historic legislation to fix our broken health insurance system and finally bring affordable health coverage to every American.

We are truly on the verge of making history.

Never before has the House or Senate approved a bill to guarantee every American access to affordable health care. Never.

Not that we haven’t tried.   

The fight to reform this nation’s health care system has spanned nearly 100 years, across generations and many great leaders, from Teddy Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy to President Clinton to my own personal hero, Ted Kennedy.

But time and again these efforts were stymied by special interests.

The need for reform is dire.

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.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Fifty-two million people would continue to go uninsured if the House Republican health care legislation was enacted, the Congressional Budget Office said tonight.  Overall, CBO estimates that the bill would only reduce the number of uninsured by 3 million and would cover 83 percent of Americans by 2019 – about the same as what would happen under the status quo. In contrast, the House Democratic health insurance reform bill would cover 96 percent of Americans by 2019 and provide an additional 36 million people with access to quality, affordable health care.

Earlier today, Chairman Miller and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus.

The Wall Street Journal reports, "House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller said his bill would ensure that workers wouldn't miss out on wages if they contract the illness. The employer would be required to pay for the sick leave, and there would be no cost to the taxpayer, Mr. Miller said.

The bill wouldn't oblige employers to pay for workers' time off. It would tell them that, if they intend to send employees who are ill home, they must then pay for them to have up to five days' leave.

Mr. Miller said his panel would hold a hearing on the legislation the week of Nov. 16. If the bill is successfully enacted by Congress, it would take effect 15 days after being signed into law, and expire in two years."

Explaining why this bill is needed, Contra Costa Times quotes Chairman Miller, "Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn’t have to choose between their livelihood, and their co-workers’ or customer’s health. This will not only protect employees, but it will save employers money by ensuring that sick employees don’t spread infection to co-workers and customers, and will relieve the financial burden on our health system swamped by those suffering from H1N1.”

And the next steps according to Reuters are, "Miller said the committee would hold a hearing the week of November 16 and he would press to have a full vote as soon as possible.

Miller said at least 50 million American workers are not paid for time taken off sick, 'many in lower-wage jobs that have direct contact with the public such as the food-service and hospitality industry, schools and health care fields.'"

For more background on who does and doesn't get sick leave, see this post on the New York Times' Economix blog.

WASHINGTON, DC — According to a new analysis by MIT Professor and CBO health advisor Dr. Jonathan Gruber, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) will lower premiums and improve coverage for individuals and families purchasing in the non-group market.  The MIT study estimates that an individual and a family of four would save from $470 and from $1,260, respectively, in health insurance premiums, even without subsidies.  The savings would be even greater for low- and middle- income individuals and families who qualify for affordability credits that can amount to thousands of dollars per year.

“This analysis confirms that the House Democratic health care legislation will lower premiums for individuals and families who purchase insurance in the Exchange,” said Chairman Henry A. Waxman, Chairman Charles B. Rangel, and Chairman George Miller.  “The individual health care market is the part of the health care system that is most dysfunctional today.  The Affordable Health Care for America Act will reform that market in a way that will reduce premiums.”

The MIT estimates are based on an analysis of the bill and the CBO report released yesterday which found that the premiums in the Exchange would be significantly lower than the premiums in the non-group market.  The analysis noted that the savings are in addition to the more generous benefits that individuals and families will receive through the Exchange compared to the non-group market.  Dr. Gruber also noted that the lower premiums are “in addition to all the other benefits that this legislation will deliver to those consumers — in particular the guarantee, unavailable in most states, that prices would not be raised or the policy revoked if they became ill.”

WASHNGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus. The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation the week of November 16.

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)

Washington, D.C.  — Today the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released estimates confirming that H.R. 3962 — the Democratic health reform bill — will succeed in controlling costs that will be reflected in individual and family premiums.  CBO found that by 2016, premiums will be $5,300 for an individual and $15,000 for a family of four in the Exchange.  This is well below the $24,000 family premium expected if Congress fails to act and premiums grow as projected under current law.  

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.

This morning, Rep. George Miller published an op-ed in the Vacaville Reporter about the need for affordable health care for everyone. Below it is excerpted in its entirety.

Readers of this paper will know that, for much of this year, Congress and President Obama have grappled with one of the most important and complicated issues affecting our nation's economy and our community: health insurance reform.

I am proud to announce that on Thursday we introduced revised legislation that addresses many concerns raised about reform and brings us closer than ever to delivering on the long-held promise of quality and affordable health care for each of us.

I am a principal co-author of the bill.

Since three House committees passed a bill this summer, we have worked hard to incorporate changes and improvements suggested by people from across the political spectrum. Our revised bill directly addresses the needs of American families. It will:

• Not increase the deficit.
• Curb out-of-control costs that are bankrupting families and employers.
• Strengthen Medicare for seniors, in part by closing the prescription drug "donut hole" and by making the program sustainable for years to come.
• Protect people against discriminatory insurance company practices. We eliminate so-called "pre-existing" condition denials, stop insurance companies from dropping coverage if you get sick, and establish yearly caps on what you will pay out-of-pocket.
• Keep premiums affordable and insurance companies honest by ensuring competition in the health care marketplace through inclusion of a public consumer option. People in California will be able to choose from multiple private options, such as Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente and others, or choose a public plan that offers the best quality at the best price -- just as they do on Expedia.
• Offer affordability credits to ensure that low-income and middle-class families can pay for coverage, and ensure that small businesses can actually help cover their employees.

One of the biggest concerns I heard throughout this process was about the bill's cost. Let me be clear: Our reforms are fully paid for and will not increase the federal deficit. In fact, our revised bill will reduce the deficit by at least $30 billion over the next 10 years.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of our reforms at $894 billion. More than half of this cost will be offset through a combination of savings generated by making Medicare and Medi-Cal more efficient and implementing new technology, but we do not cut services for seniors or low-income individuals. We improve care for people served by these critical programs.

The rest of the bill's costs are paid for by a surcharge on the wealthiest 0.3 percent of U.S. households-- married couples earning over $1 million dollars and individuals earning more than half a million dollars annually.

For the past 70 years, Americans have battled hard for the right to quality, affordable health care. While we still have hard work ahead, next week the House will vote on our truly historic legislation and get us closer than ever to achieving what generations of Americans have been fighting for.

Today's New York Times editorial, The House Health Reform Bill, is strongly in favor of the Affordable Health Care for America Act because, among other things, it would:

require insurers to allow young people through age 26 to remain on their parents’ policies. It would provide immediate help to people who have been uninsured for several months or denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. It would speed elimination of a gap in drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries (the so-called doughnut hole) and would give the government power to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries, a promising way to reduce costs.

The bill would take a long stride toward universal coverage while remaining fiscally responsible.

We strongly encourage you to read the entire editorial and to learn more about the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the first time in U.S. history, all Americans would have access to quality, affordable health care under updated health insurance reform legislation unveiled by House Democrats today. The House is expected to debate and vote on the legislation next week.

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.

According to a preliminary review by the USA Today, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has created or saved more than 388,000 jobs so far this year.That number is only for jobs created directly by the stimulus package and doesn't include jobs created indirectly by workers spending their new earnings.

While jobs were created across all sectors of the economy, the USA Today highlights some jobs created in the education sector.

The states' reports suggest the biggest impact has been at schools. Twenty-three states that have reported school job numbers said more than 156,000 jobs had been created or saved.

Carol Bingham, director of fiscal policy for the California Department of Education, estimated the stimulus saved about 20,000 teaching positions. But she and others warn that precisely counting saved jobs has proved almost impossible. "It was intended to be a count. The way it was done, I think it's going to end up being an estimate," she said.

Indiana officials reported that the stimulus had created or saved about 13,000 school jobs. Asked whether he had any idea how many layoffs the plan had prevented, state Education Department spokesman Cam Savage replied: "I really don't."

Learn more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and read Chairman Miller's statement about the Administration's estimates on education jobs.

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) today announced that they successfully secured provisions in the House version of the health insurance reform package that would provide for reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) – a long-sought priority for the two Chairmen.

“The job of reforming the Nation’s health care system and providing access to quality care for all Americans will not be complete until such care is extended to those living in Indian Country.  In the 17 years that have lapsed since the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) was last reauthorized, the dire needs of health recipients throughout native communities that rely on these services have suffered.  That is why it is more important now, than ever, that we work to fulfill our federal responsibility and see that the needs of our First Americans are attended to through national health insurance reform legislation,” said Chairman Rahall.

“We have a special responsibility to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act after more than a decade of delay. Today's news is a critical step for Indian Country and the best chance for passage of this legislation. Improving the quality and availability of care to American Indians and Alaska Natives is an important piece of our effort to ensure access to affordable, quality health care for every American,” said Chairman Miller, one of three Chairmen writing the health insurance reform bill.

“Words cannot express my gratitude to Chairman Rahall and Chairman Miller, who have been with us from the beginning as we worked together to address long-standing deficiencies in the delivery of Indian health care.  We are elated that our long journey to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act is one giant step closer to being realized, through the inclusion of this critical legislation in the House health insurance reform bill.  This critical effort to modernize our health care delivery system will go a long way in improving the health status of those living in Native American and Alaska Native communities,” said Rachel Joseph, Co-Chair of the National Tribal Steering Committee for the Reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

First enacted in 1976, IHCIA is the primary source of medical care for 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, many of whom live in isolated, sparsely populated, and underserved areas of the country.  Yet, the program was allowed to expire in 2001 and has not been reauthorized in 17 years, keeping the programs far out of pace with the dire needs of health service recipients throughout the native communities that rely on these services.

In June 2009, Rahall and Miller co-sponsored bipartisan legislation, H.R. 2708, to reauthorize the Act.  Later that month, Rahall, who has long made IHCIA reauthorization a priority, led a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on the critical and needed legislation.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and George Miller (D-CA), the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, today issued the following statement after the Senate Finance Committee approved its version of health insurance reform legislation. The House is currently working to combine the three versions of the bills approved by their committees in July.

“This marks an historic day in our decades-long fight to bring quality, affordable health care for every American. Today’s bipartisan vote by the Senate Finance Committee means that all five of congressional committees of jurisdiction have passed health insurance reform – an historic feat in its own right – and that we are one step closer to delivering the reforms that American people, businesses and our economy desperately need.

“In the House, we are nearly finished blending the bills passed by our committees.  The legislation we will ultimately consider reflects the goals and principles laid out by President Obama, and the hard work and input provided by members from across the spectrum of our diverse caucus. We look forward to bringing legislation to the floor that slows spending and protects consumers by introducing competition and accountability into the health care marketplace to keep insurers honest and create choices for everyone. We look forward to delivering legislation that guarantees quality health insurance that every American can afford.”

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.

Take the Health Reform Quiz

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier this week, U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and George Miller (D-CA), the Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the House, sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Veterans Committee to reinforce their commitment to protecting veterans’ current health plans and expanding access to quality, affordable health care options for their dependents as health insurance reform efforts move forward.

Under the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), veterans’ health care coverage will fulfill their individual responsibility requirements – meaning they can keep their current plans and those plans will not be affected by the legislation. The bill will also expand access to additional quality, affordable health insurance options for veterans and their family members through the new health insurance exchange. The three committees are currently working to merge the versions of the bills that were passed in July in preparation for consideration by the full House.

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

E.J. Dionne's commentary in the Washington Post today, A Political Idea Warp, makes the point that sometimes political labels are less than helpful in evaluating various proposals before Congress. He uses the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act as an example.

The bill, which passed 253 to 171, would allocate about $80 billion over the next decade for new loans, community colleges, school construction and early childhood programs without increasing taxes or adding to the deficit. How? Instead of paying bankers to provide loans for which they bear no real risk, the government would make the loans directly.

Liberals are always accused of spending money without worrying where it comes from, but in this case, costs are covered by making a government program more efficient -- yes, at the expense of bankers.

"We were paying these exorbitant subsidies to bankers who were taking government money, loaning it to somebody else, getting government guarantees that the loans would be paid back, and then taking all these profits," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the bill's champion. This, he told me, led Congress to ask itself: "Hey, chump, what is it you don't get about what's going on here?" The only knock on the proposal is ideological: that government is "taking over" the student loan program. But it's already a government program. The bill simply eliminates corporate welfare.

This is a classic case of how the Great Ideological Distortion Machine does its mischief: Instead of focusing on how the bill advances values typically regarded as "centrist" -- government efficiency, pay-as-you-go budgeting -- the banks' defenders bury the specifics behind abstract discussions of "big government." Yet I'd venture that middle-of-the-road Americans prefer that their tax money go toward education rather than to padding the profits of financial firms.

Mr. Dionne also remarks about how this talk over labels and "prefabricated boxes" is coloring the health care debate. We encourage you to read the entire article.

Tuesday was a jammed packed day for George Miller on health reform and college affordability. Starting at 9 am, he co-chaired a forum on health insurance reform, attended a Democratic Caucus on health care with President Obama’s senior advisor, held a rally with college students and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221), took calls with reporters and editorial boards across the country, and appeared before the House Rules Committee to get the bill on the House Floor.  The bill will be debated Wednesday and voted on Thursday.  It was a very good day for the interests of American consumers and families.

Below is a slideshow of his very busy day of action:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Barack Obama’s address to Congress tonight moved Congress closer to approving comprehensive health insurance reform, said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the chief architects of the House reform legislation.

“Tonight President Obama made a clear and convincing case to Congress: We must pass health insurance reform. Repeating history by doing nothing is not an option. American families and our nation’s businesses cannot afford to wait any longer. This is what Americans across the country, of all backgrounds and political stripes, told lawmakers in town hall meetings, coffee shops, and local grocery stores over the past month. Their need for higher quality, more secure, and more affordable health insurance hasn’t changed. And neither has our obligation – as their elected officials – to deliver it for them.

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.

Today's News of the Day is from the Congressional Budget Office. The New York Times covers the letter from the CBO to House Republicans regarding cost savings on drug spending under Medicare under the proposed America's Affordable Health Choices Act:

Medicare beneficiaries would often have to pay higher premiums for prescription drug coverage, but many would see their total drug spending decline, so they would save money as a result of health legislation moving through the House, the Congressional Budget Office said in a recent report.

Premiums for drug coverage would rise an average of 5 percent in 2011, beyond the level expected under current law, and the increase would grow to 20 percent in 2019, the budget office said.

“However,” it said, “beneficiaries’ spending on prescription drugs apart from those premiums would fall, on average, as would their overall prescription drug spending (including both premiums and cost-sharing).”

How would the America's Affordable Health Choices Act bring the total drug spending for seniors down? Again, the article explains:

The House bill would require drug companies to provide larger discounts, or rebates, on medications dispensed to low-income people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. It would also require drug makers to provide 50 percent discounts on brand-name drugs in the doughnut hole, until the coverage gap was eliminated.

The budget office said premiums would increase, in part, because Medicare drug plans would have to provide additional coverage, paying some costs that beneficiaries now pay themselves.

“In return for those higher premiums,” Mr. Elmendorf said, “enrollees would receive greater protection against incurring high drug costs. As a result, beneficiaries’ spending on prescription drugs apart from the premiums would decrease, on average. That reduction in cost-sharing would outweigh the increase in premiums, again on average.”

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

The Hidden Health Care Tax

This year, every insured American family will pay $1,017 -- and insured singles will pay $368 per year -- in insurance premiums just to cover the medical expenses of the uninsured. That's $42.7 billion this year - or $1,354 per second. This "Hidden Health Care Tax" is the undisclosed insurance premium surcharge, paid by America's businesses and insured Americans, that subsidizes the uncompensated health care costs of the uninsured.

So if you think reform will cost you more to cover the uninsured, you need to know you're paying more now.

America's Affordable Health Choices Act (HR 3200) will end the Hidden Health Care Tax and will reduce health care costs, protect and increase consumers' choices, and guarantee access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Source: Families USA

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.

The Washington Post debunked one of the leading myths being peddled by health reform opponents this morning. They took on the misleading claims about end-of-life discussions being forced euthanasia.

 

Washington Post says:

 

THE DEBATE over health reform has veered into a peripheral and misleading discussion of whether it includes a scheme to pressure senior citizens into pulling the plug. The most extreme misrepresentation has "death panels," as former Alaska governor Sarah Palin colorfully put it, deciding who is too old or too disabled to merit treatment. This is a distorted interpretation, to say the least. The debate threatens sensible policy on end-of-life discussions and in the separate realm of reforming the health-care system.

 

First: It makes sense for everyone to think about end-of-life issues, and the earlier in life the better. If you want every last heroic measure to be tried to extend your life, you can say so. If you have a different vision, you can spell that out. You will be doing your relatives and yourself a favor if you express yourself while you are still healthy. You can always change your mind.

 

The Washington Post goes on to discuss the need for end-of-life planning and the cost saving benefits of it. Learn more about the misinformation campaign against the America’s Health Choices Act.

Today’s LA Times editorial called for Americans to refuse the status quo in health care. They explain how while most of cable news has been covering town hall protests recently, while there are daily stories that have gone unnoticed but reveal the need for real health reform.  

 

LA Times says:

 

It's too bad the television cameras haven't been trained instead on the Forum in Inglewood, where the Remote Area Medical Foundation opened a temporary clinic this week. The scene makes a compelling case for a health care overhaul, putting a human face on the dry statistics about uninsured and underinsured Americans. People started lining up Monday for a chance to be treated Tuesday by volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses and other health care providers. About 1,500 people were seen that first day; after hundreds more camped out overnight, the clinic ran at full capacity again on Wednesday. It's scheduled to stay eight days before heading to its next stop, a reservation in Utah.

 

The turnout in Inglewood was huge despite the lack of publicity about the clinic, indicating how great the need is for more primary care. These are the people whose first stop for treatment tends to be the emergency room, often after a routine problem has festered long enough to become a complex (and expensive) one. Expanding health insurance to cover this group wouldn't be cheap, but it's a prerequisite to the changes in delivery and payment that will help improve care and control costs.

Remote Area Medical's experience here also illustrates one of the best features of our health care system: the humanitarianism of its professionals. But unless the system is reformed to bring basic health care services to all Americans, far too many will continue to depend on the kindness of strangers.

 

We encourage you to continue read the remainder of the LA Times editorial and learn more about the America’s Health Choices Act.

 

In this morning’s USA Today editorial, they take on myths that continue to surface about health care reform. On July 31, U.S. Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and George Miller (D-CA) released a statement exposing the campaign of misinformation on health care.

USA Today says:

There's an old proverb that says a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still getting its boots on. That's surely true when the lie instills deep personal fears, and lies appear to be in full sprint as the nation's health care debate goes local.

Some August town hall meetings around the country have degenerated into furious shouting matches, driven by outrageous misinformation borne of many sources.

The Internet spreads anonymous chain e-mails to a public that is both vulnerable and gullible. Groups with a financial or ideological interest give the rumors a boost. Talk radio provides an echo chamber for the demonizers. Most outrageously, political leaders who know better and could oppose legislation in a more credible way, engage in their own hyperbole or simply remain silent. One Republican senator, South Carolina's Jim DeMint, simply bypassed the substance of the discussion, saying it was a chance to "break" a popular Democratic president. He has plenty of company that isn't quite as blunt.

We encourage you to continue reading the USA Today editorial and learn more about the America’s 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.

U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), the chairmen of the House Committees on Education and Labor and Ways and Means, today congratulated U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on passing the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, H.R. 3200.

“We congratulate Chairman Waxman and the members of the Energy and Commerce Committee for taking the next step in this historic process. Now all three committees in the House have said ‘yes’ to health insurance reform that reflects the principles that President Obama has set forth and delivers on the change American families, businesses and local economies need. We look forward to continuing to work together over the coming weeks to reconcile the differences between these three bills and prepare to bring unified legislation to the House floor in September that lowers health costs, protects patients’ choices of doctors and plans, and ensures access to quality, affordable health insurance for all Americans.”

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.

WASHINGTON, D.C – 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.

“We will hold Republicans and the health insurance industry accountable for peddling fear and misinformation in order to protect the status quo and huge profits,” said Van Hollen, the Assistant to the Speaker. “It has been 44 days since Republicans guaranteed a bill, but instead of keeping their word they have launched a full scale attack on the truth.”

“Fear has become the main diet of the Republicans and the insurance industry,” said Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, which passed H.R. 3200 earlier this month. “Opponents know how close we are to delivering a bill that reflects the goals of President Obama and the change the American people want and deserve, which is why their efforts to mislead the public are only getting more desperate. We won’t allow their lies, scare tactics and political games to stand in the way of passing reforms that will reduce costs, protect people’s choice of doctors and plans, and ensure access to quality, affordable health care for all.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement today on the agreement reached between U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and members of the panel. The deal will allow Waxman’s Committee to pass the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200) by the August district work period.

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.

Our health care related news of the day is Ezra Klein's op-ed in the Washington Post. He explains how the health care exchange would work and the many benefits to all consumers.

Compared with the crazy-quilt system we have now, the idea behind the health insurance exchange is almost weirdly simple: It's a single market, structured for consumer convenience, in which you choose between the products of competing health insurers (both public and private). This is not a new idea. It is how we buy everything from books to socks to soup. Everything, that is, except health insurance. The benefits of reversing that bit of accidental exceptionalism are obvious to anyone who has ever stepped inside a Target: Consumers will benefit from more choice, from direct competition between insurance providers hungry for their business, from regulations meant to protect them from deceptive products, from efficiencies of scale, and from the sort of purchasing power that only a large base of customers can provide. They will benefit, in other words, from an actual, working market -- something health insurers have managed to avoid for far too long.

But all health insurance exchanges are not created equal. Just as there's a weak and strong version of the public plan, there's a weak and strong version of the exchange.

The strong version is national, or at least regional. It's open to everyone: The unemployed, the self-employed and any business, no matter the size, that wants to buy in. There's risk adjustment to reduce the incentive for cherry-picking. The huge pool of users gives the exchange tremendous advantages in scale, simplicity and standardization (experts say that you need at least 20 million to fully achieve these benefits -- easy in a national exchange but harder in a regional or state-based one). With so many potential customers, insurers are eager to participate, and they will bid aggressively to ensure they're included in the market and compete aggressively to make sure they're successful within it. Over time, the combination of increased efficiencies and greater competition drive down costs, which will lead more employers to use the exchange, which will in turn give it more scale and bargaining power. You could easily see this exchange slowly emerge as the de facto American health-care system. And not through government fiat. Through consumer choice.

The America's Affordable Health Choices Act contains this strong version of the health insurance exchange.

He ends his op-ed with this:

The only way that health-care reform will truly give us a more efficient, more effective, more affordable health-care system is if it begins to fundamentally change the inefficient, ineffective, unaffordable system we have now. The strength of the health insurance exchanges is the key to that transition. That is not to underplay the political or policy challenges. Change is scary. But it's what Obama promised, and it's what the health-care system needs.

We encourage you to read Ezra's complete op-ed as well as learn more about the America's Affordable Health Choices Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An analysis released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), yesterday affirms that H.R. 3200, the  America's Affordable Health Choices Act, would offer targeted assistance to those in need today and lead to an increase in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.

The analysis was developed in response to questions by House Republicans and offers further evidence that several of the leading claims being made by opponents of health reform are unfounded. In addition to confirming that H.R. 3200 will increase the number of Americans receiving employer-provided care, CBO also reinforces that the vast majority of Americans will be in private, employer-sponsored coverage, and that of the Americans who enter into the health insurance exchange, the majority will choose to enroll in private plans.
 

Yesterday the New York Times wrote an extensive editorial about health care reform and you. It answers many of the frequently asked questions.

• What are the elements of reform?
  
• Is there help for the insured?
  
• Is there more security for all?
• Who pays?
• Who won't be happy?
• What if I have good group coverage?
• Will I pay less?
• Will my care suffer?
• What does it mean for older Americans?

If you'd like to know more specifically how the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act will affect you and your neighbors, see the Committee on Energy and Commerce's breakdown by congressional district.The PDFs provide a district-level analysis of the impact of the legislation. This analysis includes information on the impact of the legislation on small businesses, seniors in Medicare, health care providers, and the uninsured. It also includes an estimate of the impacts of the surtax that is used to pay for the legislation.

Today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Congressional Republicans continued to mislead the public about the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, and even continued to portray the insurance-funded Lewin Group as a “non-partisan foundation” – an allegation the Washington Post debunked earlier this week.

Here’s a look at some of their biggest whoppers:

CLAIM: Republicans want to strengthen the Inspector General, which is not in the Democratic bill.

Reality Check: The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act establishes vigorous oversight, accountability and consumer protections to ensure that all health care plans operate in the best interest of the American people. It actually does create a new Inspector General to oversee all health care plans, both public and private, that operate in the new health insurance exchange.

CLAIM: The Lewin Group says 100 million Americans move from private insurance to government-run program.

Reality Check: The Lewin Group is hardly a credible or “non-partisan” source (more on that below) on this. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, only about 9-10 million people will choose the public health insurance option under the House Democratic bill. In fact, CBO estimates that 30 million will enter the new health exchange; two-thirds of those people will choose private plans, and one-third of those people will choose the public health insurance option. In addition, CBO estimates that employer-provided care will actually increase by 2 million people under the House bill.

CLAIM: The Lewin Group is a “non-partisan…foundation.”

Reality Check: The Washington Post and other independent media outlets have already exposed the truth about the Lewin Group -- and it’s hardly non-partisan. The group is funded by United Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest insurers. According to the Washington Post: “More specifically, the Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that was accused by the New York attorney general and the American Medical Association, a physician's group, of helping insurers shift medical expenses to consumers by distributing skewed data.”

CLAIM: Under the House bill, every health plan in America must look the same after 5 years.

Reality check: Again, this is misleading. By 2019, all employer-provided plans will have to meet the minimum standard benefit offered as part of the Exchange. Almost 90 percent of all employer health insurance plans already meet or exceed these standards. Employers that do not meet these minimum standards will have until 2019 to meet the minimum standards.

The American people are sick and tired of the same old political spin machine. They deserve honesty about real solutions that will fix our broken health care system and provide them with the affordable, quality health care they deserve. For more on what the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act will really do, and how it will deliver on the change the American people want, click here.

BusinessWeek has a blog post about a Rand Corp study that shows rising health care costs lead to job losses. BusinessWeek says:

In a first-of-its-kind study, the non-profit Rand Corp linked the rapid growth in U.S. health care costs to job losses and lower output. The study, published online by the journal Health Services Research, gives weight to President Barack Obama’s dire warnings about the impact of rising costs if Congress does not enact health care reform.

The study found that economy-wide, a 10% increase in excess health care costs growth would result in about 120,800 fewer jobs, $28 billion in lost revenues, and $14 billion in lost GDP value. We encourage you to read the entire BusinessWeek post because it explains the methodology and reveals some additional findings.

The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial yesterday that advanced false and misleading information regarding the House’s health reform bill, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, (H.R. 3200).

While most Americans are satisfied with their health insurance coverage now, most Americans are concerned that they will either lose their insurance or face staggering increases in premiums, co-pays or other costs. The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act is about giving all American families more choices of quality, affordable health care and the peace of mind that they will be covered with quality, affordable care no matter of their job or economic situation.  

Claim: Workers won’t be able to keep health coverage they like because Washington bureaucrats will change what employers can offer.

• In 2018, all employer-provided plans will have to meet the minimum standard benefit offered as part of the Exchange. These minimum benefits will be based on 70 percent of the typical health insurance plan offered by employers today.
• More than 90 percent of all employer health insurance plans already meet or exceed these standards. Employers that do not meet these minimum standards will have until 2018 to meet the minimum standards.

Claim: Analysis by the Lewin Group analysis shows that 88 million of Americans will be thrown off of their employer plans.

• The Lewin Group (a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare) analysis was requested by the right-wing Heritage Foundation has been widely discredited for its flawed review of the House legislation.
• The House bill actually protects and increases employer-sponsored insurance. According to official CBO numbers, 2 million more people would be covered under employer-sponsored insurance than is projected to be the case today – 164 million compared to 162 under current law.

Claim: The House bill removes current law that prevents employee lawsuits over employer provided benefits.

• The legislation does not change current law regarding lawsuits.

Claim: High deductible plans and health savings accounts will be illegal under the House bill

• Nothing in the legislation prevents employers from offering health savings accounts. In fact, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the average HSA today will meet or exceed the minimum benefits standards.

Washington, D.C. -- The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released estimates this evening confirming for the first time that H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, is deficit neutral over the 10-year budget window – and even produces a $6 billion surplus.  CBO estimated more than $550 billion in gross Medicare and Medicaid savings.  More importantly, the bill includes a comprehensive array of delivery reforms to set the stage for lowering the future growth in health care costs.  

Net Medicare and Medicaid savings of $465 billion, coupled with the $583 billion revenue package reported today by the House Committee on Ways and Means, fully finance the previously estimated $1.042 trillion cost of reform, which will provide affordable health care coverage for 97% of Americans.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Education and Labor Committee today passed historic legislation that will deliver the fundamental health reforms that Americans want by reducing and controlling costs, guaranteeing people’s choices of doctors and plans, and ensuring access to quality, affordable health care for all.

The Committee passed the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, H.R. 3200, by a vote of 26-22. Five amendments offered by Republicans were adopted. The legislation is expected to be considered by the full House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

Organizations Supporting H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act

• AARP
• AFL-CIO
• American Academy of Nursing
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  
• American College of Physicians
• American College of Surgeons
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
  
• American Medical Association
• American Nurses Association
  
• American Osteopathic Association
• American Psychiatric Association
• American Public Health Association
• Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
• Communications Workers of America
• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
  
• Consumers Union
• Doctors for America
• Families USA
• Healthcare for America Now
• International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
• International Association of Fire Fighters
  
• Main Street Alliance
• National Association of Community Health Centers
• National Breast Cancer Coalition
• National Coalition on Health Care
• National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
  
• National Medical Association
• National Women’s Law Center
• SEIU
• United American Nurses
• United Auto Workers
• United Steelworkers
• YMCA
  

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.

The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), developed jointly by the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees, is designed to achieve President Obama’s goals of strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken. The bill would ensure that 97 percent of Americans will be covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

The markup was expected to last two days.

Wednesday was only for opening statements only.

Thursday began at 10:00 a.m. in room 2175 Rayburn House Office Building will be for consideration of amendments.

After working through the night, the committee reconvened at 9:15 Friday morning for a series of roll call votes.

H.R. 3200 - America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 was reported favorably to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, and that the Committee authorize the Chairman to transmit the bill, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, to the Committee on Budget in compliance with Section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as the first part of this committee’s recommendations, pursuant to the reconciliation instruction in S. Con. Res. 13 by a vote of 26 to 22.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, praised a new proposal announced by President Obama today that will prepare more students and workers for jobs by strengthening the nation's community colleges. Miller said that he plans to introduce the initiative in the U.S. House of Representatives tomorrow as part of larger legislation that will make college more affordable through major student loan reforms.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced comprehensive health care reform legislation today that will reduce out-of-control costs, encourage competition among insurance plans to improve choices for patients, and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

The legislation, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, is consistent with President Obama’s overall goals of building on what works within the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken. The bill will ensure that 97 percent of Americans will be covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.
 

Please note: This bill has been superseded by 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.

The Chairmen of the three Committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced comprehensive health care reform legislation on July 14 that will reduce out-of-control costs, encourage competition among insurance plans to improve choices for patients, and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. (CBO confirms the bill is deficit-neutral over the 10-year budget window, and even produces a $6 billion surplus.)

The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act is consistent with President Obama’s overall goals of building on what works within the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken. The bill will ensure that 97 percent of Americans will be covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

The House Committees on Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce have been working together in an unprecedented way as one committee to develop the proposal for health care reform. (The Education and Labor Committee passed H.R. 3200 on July 17, 2009; the Ways and Means Committee passed H.R. 3200 on July 17, 2009; the Energy and Commerce Committee pass H.R. 3200 on July 31, 2009.)

The key principles of legislation include, among other things:

• Increasing choice and competition.
• Giving Americans peace of mind. 
• Improving quality of care for every American.
• Ensuring shared responsibility.
• Protecting consumers and reducing waste, fraud and abuse.

America's Affordable Health Choices Act: Complete Bill Text (HR 3200) »
America's Affordable Health Choices Act: Summary »
America's Affordable Health Choices Act: Section by Section »
America's Affordable Health Choices Act: As Reported »

What's In the Health Care Reform Bill for You? »

Cómo Te Benefica La Reforma Del Seguro Médico »

Myth vs. Facts »
The Health Insurance Exchange »
Public Health Insurance Option »
Shared Responsibility »
Guaranteed Benefits »

Making Coverage Affordable »
Consumer Protections and Insurance Market Reforms »
Employers and Health Reform »

Provisions that Benefit Small Businesses »

Strengthening the Nation's Health Workforce »
Delivery System Reform »

Protecting Program Integrity by Preventing Waste, Fraud and Abuse »
Strengthening Medicare »
Improving the Medicare Part D Drug Program »
Maintaining and Improving Medicaid »
Preventing Disease and Improving the Public's Health »

Controlling Health Care Costs »
Paying for Health Care Reform »
Health Care by the Numbers »


Education and Labor Chairman George Miller's Statement »
White House Statement on the House Discussion Draft for Health Care Reform »

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.

Today at 2:45pm Eastern time, House Democrats will discuss the health care reform legislation introduced by the Tri-Committees (the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees).  The three panels with jurisdiction over health policy in the House have been working together as one committee to develop a single bill that fulfills President Obama’s goals of reducing health care costs, protecting and increasing consumers’ choices, and guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

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.

Chairman Miller appeared on the Ed Show on July 8, 2009 to talk about health care reform. The embedded segment is 13:14 and Chairman Miller's interview begins at 9:45.

A new study released today by the Economic Policy Institute that concludes that claims of massive jobs losses if a ‘play-or-pay” proposal was enacted as part of health care reform are vastly overstated. In fact, health care reform in general, based on the Obama principles, would produce significant job gains, the EPI wrote.

‘Play or pay’ policy as a part of health care reform would require that employers either provide health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty as a percentage of their payroll in order to assist low- or moderate-income families to obtain quality and affordable health care.

Under the House Tri-Committee discussion draft proposal, employers who choose not to provide basic health insurance to workers would have to pay an 8 percent penalty based on their overall payroll. Those workers would then be able to choose a plan that best meets their needs from a menu of insurance options in the national health care exchange, which would include both private plans and a public health insurance option.

The EPI also found that past studies that claim significant job losses as a result of ‘play-or-pay’ were based on proposals not on the table today in either the House or the Senate.

View the EPI analysis of ‘play-or-pay’.
 

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. George Miller (D-CA) released the following statement calling on  the House to approve the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, one of President Obama’s top domestic priorities.

“Passage will represent a monumental step forward in our effort to build a vibrant and green economy based on clean energy, less foreign oil, and a reduction in greenhouse gases,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee and one of the co-authors of the energy bill. “Californians have led the nation in breaking our dependence on fossil fuels and have always known that the future belongs to clean energy technology jobs.  It is long past time for us to stop sending our national treasure to pay for foreign oil. This bill gives us the opportunity to follow California’s lead and move America in a new energy direction.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Tri-Committee Discussion Draft advances President Obama’s goals for health care reform, a diverse group of small business owners, economists, consumers, patient advocates and other stakeholders told the House Education and Labor Committee today.

The plan, which was unveiled last Friday by the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees, would reduce out-of-control costs, improve choices and competition for consumers and expand access to quality, affordable health care. It would provide health care coverage to at least 95 percent of Americans by 2019, the most of any proposal to date.

“Consistent with President Obama’s goals, our discussion draft builds on what works and fixes what’s broken in our current system,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee and one of the authors of the draft. “It lays the foundation for an American solution that will reduce costs for families, businesses and taxpayers, guarantee choice of doctors and plans, and ensure that everyone has access to affordable, quality health care.”

“The Tri-Committee bill, I think, is an important step in coming up with a bill that does encompass so many of the principles that the President has said was important, and that the dual thing of expanding coverage and making the kinds of meaningful reforms that will slow the growth rate of cost,” said Dr. Christina Romer, the Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 23 on the forthcoming draft proposal for health care reform developed by the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees. The draft proposal is designed to achieve President Obama’s goals of controlling health care costs, preserving health care choices, and ensuring quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

On Friday, NPR's All Things Considered ran a story about the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy unveiling of their discussion draft for health care reform.

House leaders unveiled Friday their version of a health care overhaul. House Democrats are showing unusual unity on the complicated issue: a single measure will proceed through three different committees on its way to a House floor vote slated for late July.

Listen here or download the MP3 (1.65MB).

Below are the prepared remarks of Chairman George Miller at a press conference with the chairs of the other committees with health policy jurisdiction at the U.S. House of Representatives to unveil the Tri-Committee Discussion Draft for Health Care Reform.

Today marks a historic moment in America’s urgent quest to fix our broken health insurance system.

For the past six months, our three committees -- the committees that have jurisdiction over health care in the House -- have worked together in an unprecedented manner to develop and present a health care reform discussion draft to Congress and the American people that embodies President Obama’s call for fundamental change in our health care system.

President Obama asked us to draft a reform bill that will control costs, guarantee choice, and ensure quality and affordable health coverage for all Americans.

I believe that our draft lives up to those essential principles. Our discussion draft reflects months of hard work and the views of many of our colleagues.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled their discussion draft for health care reform that would reduce out-of-control costs, improve choices and competition for consumers and expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans. The discussion draft would guarantee that almost every American is covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

Consistent with President Obama’s goals, the draft builds on what works in the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken with it. The draft would cover more Americans than any other proposal released to date.

Updated: for the most up-to-date information on health care reform, please visit our page about HR 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.

-----------------
On June 19, the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled their discussion draft for health care reform.  The draft 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. More from the press conference »

Consistent with President Obama’s goals, the draft builds on what works in the current health care system by strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken with it. The draft would cover more Americans than any other proposal released to date.

Today at 1:00 pm EDT, the chairmen of the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees will unveil their discussion draft for health care reform. The three panels with jurisdiction over health policy in the House, have been working together as one committee to develop a single bill that fulfills President Obama’s goals of reducing health care costs, protecting and increasing consumers’ choices, and guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 23 on the draft proposal for health care reform developed by the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees.  The draft proposal is designed to achieve President Obama’s goals of controlling health care costs, preserving health care choices, and ensuring quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

WHAT:          
Hearing on “The House Tri-Committee Draft Proposal for Health Care Reform”
 
WHO:            
Panel I:
Dr. Christina Romer, Chair, Council of Economic Advisers, Washington, DC

Panel II:
John Arensmeyer, Chief Executive Officer, Small Business Majority, Sausalito, CA
Dr. Jacob Hacker, Professor and Co-Director of the Berkeley Center on Health, Economic, and Family Security, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Ron Pollack, Founding Executive Director, FamiliesUSA, Washington, DC
Gerald Shea, Assistant to the President, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC
Fran Visco, President, National Breast Cancer Coalition, Washington, DC
Additional Witnesses TBA

Panel III:
Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Karen Pollitz, Research Professor and Project Director of the Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
William Vaughn, Senior Health Policy Analyst, Consumers Union, Washington, DC
Celia Wcislo, Assistant Division Director, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Boston, MA
ReShonda Young, Small Business Owner, Alpha Express, Inc. on behalf of the Main Street Alliance, Waterloo, IA
Additional Witnesses TBA
                       
WHEN:          
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
12:00 p.m. EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
 

The Contra Costa Times has an article about how health care reform is taking center stage in Congress. Building upon the draft health reform outline released last week by the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and the Education and Labor Committees, Chairman Miller has continued to work toward health care reform that increases access and brings down costs.

Proponents say the reforms will bring down costs through increased competition and provide every American access to health care regardless of employment status or income.

"I think it's going to happen," Miller said of the restructuring legislation. "People recognize the shortcomings of the system they now have. The economy has shown the vulnerability of families at all levels when people lose their jobs and their health care. It's very hard to see how you fix the American economy if you don't fix health care."

To learn more about how the Committee and Congress is working to create a more effective and efficient health care system that will guarantee quality, affordable health coverage for all American families and workers visit our webpage and the Office the Majority Leader's Health Care Reform Clearinghouse.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, leaders of the Committees with jurisdiction over health policy briefed members of the House Democratic Caucus on the current framework and timing of health reform efforts in the House of Representatives.  The discussion, led by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), focused on the key principles of reducing health care costs, protecting current coverage and preserving choice for patients to ensure affordable, quality care for all. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Reps. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Henry Waxman (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA), the chairmen of the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Education and Labor Committees, joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer at a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss their efforts to pass health care reform legislation this year. After the meeting, the chairmen released the following statement: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, today lauded the Senate’s confirmation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Miller said today’s action further strengthens prospects for meeting President Obama’s goal of enacting comprehensive health care reforms this year.

The Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Thursday, April 23 to examine various health care reform proposals that will guarantee quality and affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans.

WASHINGTON, DC – Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) met today with the chairmen of the three committees working to develop health care reform legislation in the House - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (CA), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (NY), and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (CA) – and other health care leaders to discuss the reform initiative. Hoyer and the three chairmen issued the following statement after the meeting:

“We may have three Committees with jurisdiction over health care in the House of Representatives, but we speak with one voice.  Reforming America’s health care system to control costs and ensure that everyone has affordable care that meets their needs is central to long-term economic recovery and growth.  We are committed to working together to advance health reform legislation that meets the objectives laid out by President Obama. Today’s meeting was very productive as we continue to move forward in a focused and coordinated way to improve health care for all Americans. ”

The Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Thursday, April 23 to examine various health care reform proposals that will guarantee quality and affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans.

WHAT:          
Hearing on, “Ways to Reduce the Cost of Health Insurance for Employers, Employees and their Families”

WHO:            
Karen Davenport, director of health policy, Center for American Progress
David Himmelstein, associate professor of medicine, Harvard University
Michael Langan, principal, Towers Perrin
William Oemichen, president and CEO, Cooperative Network, Madison, Wisc.
Ron Pollack, executive director, FamiliesUSA
Janet Trautwein, executive vice president and CEO, National Association of Health Underwriters
William Vaughan, senior health policy analyst, Consumers Union

WHEN:         
Thursday, April 23, 2009
10:30 a.m., EDT
                        
WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

 

E.J. Dionne had a column in yesterday's Washington Post outlining why "this is the year Congress will finally give every American access to health insurance." He highlights the efforts of legislators who "have quietly been preparing the ground for reform since the Democrats took over two years ago. And the competing interest groups seem more inclined to get what they can out of reform than to stop the enterprise altogether."

Mr. Dionne notes the importance of the House in passing comprehensive health care reform and how "Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), one of the House's resident health-care mavens, has been working closely with two other committee chairs, Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.)."

To show how committed they are to working together toward a common solution, Reps. Miller, Rangel and Waxman wrote a letter to President Obama in early March saying, "In order to achieve our shared goal of enacting health reform this year, we will coordinate our committee consideration so that action on the House floor can occur before the August recess."

We recommend you read Mr. Dionne's entire article.

WASHINGTON, DC –– Today Chairmen Henry A. Waxman, Charles B. Rangel, and George Miller sent a letter to President Obama regarding their commitment to work together to pass national health reform.  The text of the letter follows: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – While most Americans get health care coverage from their job, rising costs are forcing more employers to drop coverage or shift costs onto their workers, witnesses told the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee today. 

The Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine ways to increase health care insurance coverage for Americans through their employer. While nearly 47 million Americans currently have no health insurance at all, more than 27 million of those uninsured have jobs.

On Tuesday, March 10, the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine ways to increase health care insurance coverage for Americans through their employer. Watch live here » While nearly 47 million Americans currently have no health insurance at all, more than 27 million of those uninsured have jobs.

WHAT:          
Hearing on “Strengthening Employer-Sponsored Health Care”
 
WHO:            
Mark Derbyshire, small employer, Aberdeen, Maryland
Bruce Pyenson, principal and consulting actuary, Milliman Inc.
John Sheridan, CEO, Cooper University Hospital
Kenneth Thorpe, chair of the health policy and management department, Emory University
E. Neil Trautwein, vice president and employee benefits counsel, National Retail Federation
Jim Winkler, health management practice leader, Hewitt Associates
                       
WHEN:          
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
10:30 a.m. ET

WHERE:       
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after attending the White House Summit on Health Care.

“Today President Obama not only took a very productive first step toward putting us on the path to meaningful health care reform, but he began an inclusive process by bringing all stakeholders to the table. He’s being honest about the reasons we’re in this mess – and that reforming health care is a fiscal and economic necessity. As we move forward, I hope all players involved follow his lead by putting good policies above politics.

Click here to read the guidance released by the IRS on March 31, 2009 (PDF) »

Summary:  Recession-related job losses are threatening health coverage for many families. To help workers maintain their health coverage while they are between jobs, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides a 65% reduction in the premiums payable by involuntarily terminated workers and their families for health care continuation coverage under COBRA. This premium reduction will last for up to 9 months.  Workers who have been involuntarily terminated during the period from September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009 and their families are eligible. This premium reduction also applies to health care continuation coverage that may be required by states for insurance policies sponsored by small employers (so called state mini-COBRAs) and public employees.  This provision will help 7 million people maintain their health insurance by providing a vital bridge for families when workers have been forced out of their jobs as a result of the recession.

Chairman George Miller has been invited to speak at a panel on health care at President Obama’s White House summit on fiscal responsibility. The panel also includes Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, among others.

“Passing the President’s economic recovery plan was only the first step in our efforts to restore our nation’s economic and fiscal health,” said Miller. “Eight years of reckless fiscal policies and the ongoing economic crisis have left our country in a sea of red ink. President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have made it clear that they are committed to using the resources of the federal government to rescue our economy but that they also are committed to operating our government in a fiscally responsible manner. Whether it is our health care system, our tax policy, or other issues, I look forward to working with the president and the speaker to make our nation more efficient while raising the quality of services Americans receive. Doing so will strengthen our middle class and our nation."

Improving workers’ access to quality, affordable health care is a top priority for the Education and Labor Committee in the 111th Congress. As chairman of the committee, Miller shares jurisdiction on health care reform with the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees.

***

DETAILS:

WHAT: Chairman Miller to Speak on Health Care Panel at White House Fiscal Responsibility Summit
WHEN: Today, beginning at 1:00 p.m. eastern

WASHINGTON – As part of legislation to rescue the American economy, the U.S. House of Representatives today approved measures to expand access to affordable health care coverage for workers who lose their jobs as a result of the recession by a vote of 244 to 188. The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that the package would help 8.2 million people keep health care coverage for themselves and their families.