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Today on the West Lawn of the Capitol, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore) stood shoulder-to-shoulder with House leaders to unveil the “Affordable Health Care for America Act,” (H.R. 3962), which includes a public option, adds coverage for 37 million people, insures 96% of Americans, and provides advance care planning – a provision Blumenauer authored – all while reducing the deficit.
The language unveiled today is a combination of three House bills
passed by the Education and Labor Committee, the Energy and Commerce
Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee, on which Blumenauer serves.
Following is a statement from Rep. Blumenauer:
“In Oregon, where 270 people lose their health care every day, inaction
on health insurance reform has never been an option. Today we have laid
the foundation for serious and necessary change. This bill will not
only cover those without insurance, but it will lead to better, more
affordable care for all Americans. After years of hard work, we have a
health care bill that is stronger than I anticipated, and I will do all
I can to keep it intact as we go through the legislative dance of
negotiating with the Senate.”
Facts on the Affordable Health Care for America Act
- Addresses Medicare geographic inequities - an
issue Blumenauer has been leading the charge on to make sure that
states providing high quality, efficient care are not penalized. The
health insurance reform bill will establish two studies to be conducted
by the independent and respected Institute of Medicine, to improve
geographic inequities and improve quality care. The recommendations
from both studies are schedule to be implemented prior to 2013, when
enrollment for the public plan begins. The first study will evaluate
and make necessary corrections to the current geographic adjustments to
physician payments. The second study will provide recommendations on
changing the Medicare payment system to reward efficient delivery of
high quality, evidence–based, patient centered care.
- Advance Care Planning – this Blumenauer
provision will help families better prepare and understand their loved
ones’ preferences for end of life care so they are not confronted with
these difficult medical decisions in the midst of an emergency. The
provision extends Medicare coverage to cover the cost of patients
voluntarily speaking with their doctors about their values and
preferences regarding end-of-life care.
- New Health Insurance Exchange (starting in 2013)
- creates a transparent and functional marketplace for individuals and
small employers to comparison shop among private and public insurers,
including new health insurance co-ops.
- A Public Option - This will be one of the many
choices of health insurance within the Health Insurance Exchange, and
it will be a new choice – operating on a level playing field – that is
subject to the same reforms and protections as other private plans.
- Meets President Obama’s cost test of $900 billion for coverage - the legislation’s coverage cost will be $894 billion over 10 years, fully paid for.
- Cuts the deficit
- the legislation cuts the deficit by about $30 billion in the first
ten-years (2010 – 2019). CBO has indicated that in the period of
2016-2019, savings and revenues will grow significantly faster than
coverage costs.
- Reins in wasteful Medicare costs while improving benefits for seniors - the legislation reduces annual growth in Medicare expenditures by 1.3 percentage points per year.
- Expands health coverage - the legislation
expands health insurance coverage to 36 million Americans, which helps
guarantee that 96 percent of Americans will be covered.
Bill Summary
See side-by-side comparison on changes from HR 3200.
Read the full text of the Affordable Health Care for America Act
Information on Oregon Health Care Needs
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