Spkr. Pelosi's Blog: Health Insurance Reform: Immediate Benefits vs. the Cost of Inaction

[jefferson_dem]

Health Insurance Reform: Immediate Benefits vs. the Cost of Inaction
March 8th, 2010 by Karina

Congress is taking the final steps to pass comprehensive health insurance reform to ensure all Americans have access to affordable, high quality care. There are a number of provisions that will take effect immediately available to American workers, their families and small businesses – the President referenced these in his weekly address to the nation on Saturday:

Tax credits for small business owners who purchase health insurance

Bans insurance companies from dropping your coverage when you get sick

Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions

No more lifetime limits or restrictive annual caps on benefits

Free preventive care in all new private plans

Young people will be able to stay on their parents’ insurance policy until their 26th birthday

Seniors with high prescription drug costs who find themselves in the prescription drug “donut hole” will receive $250 to help pay for prescriptions (and eventually the donut hole will be eliminated)

A new independent appeals process for those who feel they have unfairly been denied an insurance claim

As The New York Times wrote in an editorial this weekend, “the fact is that the health care system is broken for far too many Americans. And the country cannot afford the status quo.” Failure is not an option. It is not an option for the millions of uninsured Americans, not for the small business owners struggling to offer health insurance benefits to their employees, not for families unable to meet the rising monthly premiums and high deductibles, and not for the seniors with skyrocketing prescription drug costs:

46.3 million Americans were uninsured in 2008 – up from 38.4 million in 2000. Numbers for 2009 are likely to be significantly higher as a result of the economic crisis that left many workers jobless and tightened the pocketbooks of families and businesses across the country.

According to a recent employer health benefit survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, 40% of workers in small firms with health insurance coverage pay an annual deductible of $1,000 or more for single coverage.

Health care spending – projected to be 17.6% of GDP this year – is expected to exceed one-fifth of the GDP (20.3%) by 2018.

The reform bill will result in lower overall prescription drug costs for seniors, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Right now, evidence suggests the donut hole coverage gap reduces seniors’ use of drugs prescribed by their doctor by an average of 14%, posing a real health threat to seniors who simply cannot afford the drugs.

http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=2176

[NJmaverick]

1. K&R for important information

[derby378]

2. Where to start, where to start?

:popcorn:

[Donnachaidh]

3. the average donut hole is $2500 -- $250 dollars is an insult.

But hey, must not stand in the way for the insurance company cheerleaders :eyes:

[Bluenorthwest]

4. That doughnut hole they all rave about filling, they put it there

The hole exists, and will continue to exist under this 'reform' for only one reason. Congress wrote it into law, and voted to pass it. They are not answering a natural disaster, they are answering a disaster they made themselves. How impressive.
We all need to remember that the same people who designed and built that doughnut hole for seniors are designing and building this plan today. The United States Congress. Nancy Pelosi was there, voting for the doughnut hole, and saying it was all they could do, and they'd fix it later. Now, it is later, and fixing the problem they made is called a huge element of reform! Lewis Carroll would be proud of them!

[RC]

5. Health Insurance Reform?

Where is the Single Payer anything here?

[Clio the Leo]

6. Kick & Rec. NT

[babylonsister]

7. Rec'd. nt

[ShortnFiery]

8. When Pelosi took Impeachment off of the table and will not investigate War Crimes,

I knew that I could NOT EVER trust her or her ilk to do right by the American Populace.

It's all talk and will end up being nothing short of a WINDFALL for the Insurance Cartel.

You're voting for MANDATES period. How does it feel to get punked?

The GOP will not let reconciliation happen ... that's exactly what the corporate democrats are depending on, in secret. :thumbsdown:

[Red State Rebel]

9. Only children protected from pre-existing condition exclusions??

I thought everyone would have access insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions.??

[jenmito]

11. No. Everyone will be protected, but children are protected immediately

while adults can immediately buy into a high-risk pool for coverage.

[cilla4progress]

10. Trojan horse

Does it not occur to anyone here that "fix it later" is code for the fact this INDEED is the Trojan horse the Repubs warn of - something that must not be uttered aloud by Dems - and that we are supposed to "get this," that if we can just get this in the door, the rest, including a PO, is so much more doable?

[Hansel]

12. I think you are exactly right. Shhhhh.

It's a heck of a lot easier to go from this bill to the PO than it is from nothing to the PO or Single Payer. Once the bill is passed and the world doesn't come to an end, it will be a lot easier for the general public to trust the Dems on this.

It's hard to believe the number of people who just don't seem to get this.

[cilla4progress]

13. FINE - UH - LEE! :)

Someone who agrees with me! I bet Obama is just shaking his head..."dumbshits," he's thinking, "just get this GD thing through, and we'll walk right in with PO. Maybe in bits and pieces, but, like the Trojans of old, we have to get the gates open first, before we can sneak the troops on in!" Because this totally meets with the Republican meme, he can't be too obvious about this.

Thank you! :toast"

[cilla4progress]

14. That's

:toast:

sheesh LAME!