House Health Care Bill Revealed
Nancy Pelosi is holding a press conference to announce the House health care reform bill. The bill is called “The Affordable Health Care For America Act, ” H.R. 3962. Some key provisions:
From the House Education & Labor Committee website:
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.
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 offer coveragecontribute 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.
Tags: Health Care Reform, Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House of Representatives
What will the republican spin be? Boo hoo. We had eight years in the white House and six years controlling Congress, and gee, well, we don’t think health care is really broken so we never put forth a single bill to rectify it when we were in power? Or, after years of blasting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and other government programs, will they try and strike fear in the minds of seniors by pretending to actually support Medicare by pretending to be alarmed by CUTS in a government program? LOL. Isn’t that what they are FOR? Or were for? Or who actually knows anymore. They’re for deficit reduction except when they’re in office ($10.4 trillion debt under Bush, $14 trillion if you include Clinton’s surplus they rolled through with a GOP congress.)
Anyway, I would think most people have to be impressed with the bill. It ain’t perfect, no bill ever is. No one is going to be completely happy. But this bill is a tremendous improvement over the current scam called the health insurance industry. Let’s hope the dems stick to one thing: removing the insurance companies anti-trust exemption. They never should have had it, they abused it when they did and the dems have stuck it up their …. where it belongs. I still think the bogus report by the insurance industry changed the dynamics of this game and inspired the dems in Congress to play hardball. Since that “report” the PO is alive and well and the anti-trust exemption is dead. Talk about overplaying your hand.
The dems posted the bill online. Good for them.
Fleckman is on it!
Yes, the same Peter Fleckman that created the Teabagger Edition of the bill that the nutbags read out to befuddled Congressman last summer as if it was the real bill.
Progressives are not happy with this watered down bill. Even Kucinch railed against the dems today because it does very little to reign in insurance company costs. Rachel exposed Evan B and his wifey who got $2 million from Wellpoint. The democrats should be ashamed for taking millions from these corporations…as Dennis K said, “you either work for the people, or you work for the corporations? The only way out of this is to hope the feds dont put in a provision that “states can’t do their own public options”.
Pelosi Health Care Bill Blows a Kiss to Trial Lawyers(Prohibits state from limiting attorney’s fees)
breitbart ^ | 10/30/09
The health care bill recently unveiled by Speaker Nancy Pelosi is over 1,900 pages for a reason. It is much easier to dispense goodies to favored interest groups if they are surrounded by a lot of legislative legalese. For example, check out this juicy morsel to the trial lawyers (page 1431-1433 of the bill): Section 2531, entitled “Medical Liability Alternatives,” establishes an incentive program for states to adopt and implement alternatives to medical liability litigation. [But]…… a state is not eligible for the incentive payments if that state puts a law on the books that limits attorneys’ fees or imposes…
Ok, which one of you Delaware Liberals can explain the rationing of the Flu shot. We have extreme shortages of the H1N1 Vacine and Gitmo prisoners are going to get the shot before we get it here in Delaware. Is this a what we can expect from Government health care from now on?
The people who manufacture this vaccine are the people you should ask, and the government is not the manufacturer. The Delaware Liberals here are only responsible for making sure that you personally are on the list for flu shot runaround.
Hey Cassandra
The Gov/Obama are the ones who decide where the manufactured vaccine go, so sorry, you lose. Become acquainted with the facts and quit going off half cocked
go runaround the block one more time.
Well, if they are deciding where the vaccine should go, then they aren’t rationing it, are they? And perhaps they would not be in the business of prioritizing deliveries if the manufacturers had — you know — delivered when they said they would.
You need to haul your dumb ass off to dictionary.com before you use words you don’t know the meaning of.
Boy, you are such a one way street. Not that I like Bush but you crucified him when we had a shortage of vaccine and now you are defending the man and women in charge of this mess
I agree with you that Bush was horrible.
Not defending anybody — just directing you to the right place to ask your misworded question and directing you to the place where you can acquire some precision with your words.
And your Bush whine? You need to stop making shit up. BushCo got his ass handed to him because he tried to blame fear of lawsuits for the temporary shortage of vaccine, rather than the manufacturing technology itself which hasn’t changed all that much for 40 or 50 years.
Feel free to come back when you know what you are talking about.
Directing me where?? You answered with emotions not fact and pure BS. You are the one making stuff up. So, we are back to the orginal question, Gitmo prisoners are going to get the H1N1 Vaccine before Delaware Citizens is that how you want the GOV/OBAMA care rationing your health care>
answer the question
So why are you here if you can’t follow the simple thread?
Go back to your original post here and read what you wrote and then my response.
You’ve been well answered here (your ass has been handed to you, frankly) and apparently you aren’t bright enough to keep up with the conversation — so consider yourself answered and go direct your question to the people who can best answer it — the drug companies.
hmm…. I asked about obama and health care and rationing… you answered… it was the manufacturing… I answered the Gov decides… you came back with a bs insult… I came back with facts.. You came back with insults again, typical
Guess I am in the wrong spot for intelligent conversations without personal attacks
You bring the intelligent conversation or even an intelligent question and you get treated very differently. So until then,
Bye!
Cassandra, answer the question! do you think it is right for Gitmo prisoners to ge the H1N1 before Delaware citizens?
simple
yes or no?
Yes, Field Marshal Cinque. People in the custody of the state need to get public health protections without delay. This means old folks in the Smyrna Home, the retarded in Stockley, those committed to Delaware Psychiatric Center, the adjudicated in Ferris, the inmates at DCC and Baylor. This is elementary in the world of public health.
Ok, calling people names always works, a simple yes or no with your reasons is so much more civil, but I dont think you can handle it.
Field Marshal is such a germanic title, while CinqueB has such a softer Italian fascist ring to it, could you come up with another title?
You don’t know who Field Marshal Cinque is? Goodness, if your name were Alice Rodrigo, don’t you think someone would call you A-Rod? If your name were Bobby Preston, don’t you think someone would call you The Music Man?
That’s not “calling people names”; it’s having a bit of fun. If you can’t relax, CinqueB, head back to the eighth inning.
Ok, I know who he was and always get trash but if you would of checked the spelling you would of realized it was Italian. Cinque is 5 in Italian and my name has 5 b’s therefore, cinqueB. btw, do you know angela davis has been a frequent visitor to the white house?
I am sorry, I cant help myself sometimes. I just like jerking dem chains, sort of like Rush Limbaugh. I cant expect you guys to know who visits Obama or what is really up, because the media doesnt report it. why do you guys follow this guy with blind faith he is leading us into the weimar republic where a wheel barrow of money bought a loaf of bread.
You meant “would have,” Not “would of”
3-1 lead for NYY, btw I am a cowboys fan
That is in keeping with the idiot motif you seem to have adopted.
Jason, who are you talking to? And why are you so angry?