Author Archive
Amen!
“We will go through the gate,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in January, at a Capitol Hill press conference. “If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed.”
Finally, the promise of equitable health care coverage and enhanced economic security that Medicare brought to older people will be available to younger people. Because of the tenacious, courageous leadership of Speaker Pelosi, President Obama, and the Connecticut Congressional Delegation, health care reform finally passed!
To all who helped make this happen, we send praise. With all who will benefit from this legislation, we share joy in a brighter, healthier future. May we all join together to ensure that the gates of justice and equity continue to open for all Americans.
Flash: Health Care Reform Now
The House of Representatives is poised to vote on historic health reform legislation in the next few days. The latest non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report estimates that 32 million Americans will receive coverage if the legislation passes. The CBO further estimates that the bill would reduce the deficit by approximately $138 billion between 2010 – 2019 and predicts continued savings in the following decade.
Many provisions, including those that will protect people from health insurance discrimination will take effect soon. Click here to see the effective dates of some key insurance reform provisions.
Health care reform will strengthen and improve guaranteed benefits in traditional Medicare. It will protect the integrity of the Medicare program by extending the life of the Medicare Trust Fund and will reduce the outrageous overpayments to private Medicare Advantage plans. It will improve Medicare for all beneficiaries by slowing the growth of premiums and other out-of-pocket expenses, enhancing preventive benefits, and closing the “Donut Hole” gap in prescription drug cover. Health care reform will also provide coverage to millions of currently uninsured Americans and end discriminatory practices by insurance companies. Passing this legislation will strengthen Medicare, bring a similar promise of health coverage to younger people, and increase the economic security of all Americans.
It’s time to pass health care reform – now!
Don’t Walk Away From Health Care Reform!
The Center for Medicare Advocacy supports efforts to pass the Senate’s health reform bill. We reiterate what President Obama asked of Congress in his State of the Union address, “don’t walk away from [health] reform!” Paul Krugman agreed in his NewYork Times editorial.
Now is not the time to retreat, or to insist that the perfect defeat the good. Too many people have no health insurance, too many are denied coverage because of preexisting conditions, too many face bankruptcy because of uncovered medical bills for us to give up.
What would Ted Kennedy do? He would agree! He would push forward to pass the Senate health reform bill. As he writes in his memoir about his efforts to pass reform – in 1977:
“My staff and I worked hard to craft a plan that would be capable of having broad-based support. Specifically, we negotiated long and hard in 1977 to persuade .. the AFL-CIO and … the UAW, to compromise on their strong commitment to a single-payer system, where health care providers would be paid from a single national fund like Medicare – and agree instead to support a plan built on our existing system of private insurance provided that coverage was mandatory and universal. I had personally supported single payer in the past and understood the benefits of it, but I also knew that it would be politically impossible to pass.” True Compass, p. 359 (2009)
Listen to Teddy! Pass the Senate health care reform bill as soon as possible – if that’s what can be done, if that’s what’s feasible – do it!
To speak to your members of Congress, call (800)828-0498.
Help Haiti!
Now is one of those times to broaden our focus. Haitians need … everything. To gain quick access to many reputable organizations that are helping and need donations, go to http://www.rachelhulin.com/blog/2010/01/five-ways-to-help-haiti.html .
From the White House
Dear Friend,
As the first year of the Obama Administration concludes with the State of the Union, the White House is inviting Americans across the country to connect directly with some of the President’s senior advisors. Through WhiteHouse.gov, these leaders will report to you on their work and answer your questions on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re heading. Stop by WhiteHouse.gov to read all of the posts, join the chats, and find any updates on times. As the President likes to say, this is the “People’s House,” so we want to open it up and make sure you know what we’re doing to bring the change America needs.
Sincerely,
Valerie Jarrett
Senior Advisor to the President
Further to Senators Who Live in Glass Houses …
As Center for Medicare Advocacy executive director Judith Stein writes in today’s Washington Post, consideration of the current health reform bills calls for some perspective, and some knowledge of very recent history.
Read the letter, here.
Thank you! 60 Senators Bring Us One Step Closer to Health Care Reform
True, the bill that passed the Senate is far from perfect. But, can you imagine what the opposition would be saying if the bill met our standards for true health care reform? As it is, the brave Senators who led this battle have endangered their political careers. This includes Senator Chris Dodd (CT), senior Senator from the Center for Medicare Advocacy’s home state.
So we thank Senator Dodd and everyone who worked to get this good bill passed. Here are some highlight’s from Families USA: Manager’s amendment: Providing more competition and affordable choices for Americans ; Manager’s amendment: Improving quality and controlling costs ; Manager’s amendment: Enhancing affordable choices for small businesses .
Get some rest, all! Another big push to provide health care equity awaits us after we ring in 2010.
Senators Who Live In Glass Houses …
Reporting about health reform agreements among Senators ought to include a look into some recent history, which few know about, acknowledge, or care to remember. Hint: look at the “process” and deals involved in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.
It Takes 2 To Tango: Senator Baucus Tells The Truth About (Not)Bipartisan Health Care Reform
Senate Floor Remarks of Senator Max Baucus December 22, 2009
“Mr. President, it has been more than a month since the Majority Leader moved to proceed to the health care reform bill before us today. At long last, the Senate is now in the final throes of passing this historic legislation.
From the beginning, this Senator has sought out what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.” That’s the way that this Senator has always sought to legislate.
A year and a half ago, I convened a bipartisan retreat at the Library of Congress. Half a year ago, I convened three bipartisan roundtables with health care experts. Half a year ago, the Finance Committee conducted three bipartisan walk-throughs of the major concepts behind the bill before us today.
We went the extra mile. I reached out to my good friend, the Ranking Republican Member of the Finance Committee. I reached out to the ranking Republican Member of the Health Committee. We sought to craft a bill that would appeal to the broad middle. We sought to craft a bill that could win the support of Republicans and Democrats alike.
We met, a group of six of us, three Democrats and three Republicans. We met more than 30 times. We met for months. No, we did not reach a formal agreement. The Leadership on the other side of the aisle went to great lengths to stop us from doing so.
But even though we did not reach a formal agreement, we came very close to doing so. The principles that we discussed are very much the principles upon which the Finance Committee built its bill. The principles that we discussed are very much the principles reflected in the bill before us today.
From the debate that the Senate has conducted this past month, you would not know it. During this debate, some on the other side of the aisle have mischaracterized the bill before us. Some on the other side of the aisle have set about a systematic campaign to demonize this bill. Through bare assertion alone, with the thinnest connection to fact, they have sought to vilify our work. If one listened to their assertions alone, one would not recognize the bill before us.
And so, let me, quite simply, state the facts.
Some on the other side of the aisle assert that this bill is a Government takeover of health care. The fact is that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that this bill would reduce the Government’s fiscal role in health care. Just 3 days ago, CBO wrote, and I quote:“CBO expects that the proposal would generate a reduction in the federal budgetary commitment to health care during the decade following the 10-year budget window.”
Some on the other side of the aisle assert that this bill would add to our Nation’s burden of debt. The fact is that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that this bill would reduce the deficit by $132 billion in the first 10 years and by between $650 billion and $1.3 trillion in the second 10 years. The fact is that this is the most serious deficit reduction effort in more than a decade.
Some on the other side of the aisle assert that this bill would harm Medicare. The fact is that Medicare’s independent Actuary says that this bill would extend the life of Medicare by 9 years. The fact is that this is the most responsible effort to shore up Medicare in more than a decade.
Some on the other side of the aisle assert that this bill does not do enough to ensure the uninsured. The fact is that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that this bill would extend access to health care to 31 million Americans who otherwise would have to go without. The fact is that CBO says, and I quote: “the share of legal nonelderly residents with insurance coverage would rise from about 83 percent currently to about 94 percent.”
Nothing that Senators on the other side of the aisle have proposed would come close. CBO estimated that the Republican substitute offered in the House of Representatives would have extended coverage to just 3 million people. The fact is that CBO says of that plan, and I quote: “The share of legal nonelderly residents with insurance coverage in 2019 would be about 83 percent, roughly in line with the current share.”
I would cite the facts about the Republican substitute in the Senate. But the fact is that there is no Republican substitute.
Some on the other side of the aisle assert that they simply prefer a more modest reform of health care. The fact is that the Republicans controlled the Senate from 1995 to 2001 and from 2003 to 2006. The fact is that before they took control, in 1994, 36 million Americans, 15.8 percent of non-elderly Americans were without health insurance coverage. In the last year of their control, in 2006, nearly 47 million Americans, 17.8 percent of non-elderly Americans were without health insurance coverage. The legacy of Republican control was 10 million more Americans uninsured.
Some on the other side of the aisle say that we are moving too fast. The fact is that it was 1912 when former President Theodore Roosevelt first made national health insurance part of the Progressive Party’s campaign platform. The fact is that people of good will have been working at this for nearly a century.
The fact is, health care reform for America is now within reach. The fact is, the most serious effort to control health care costs is now within reach. The fact is, life-saving health care coverage for 31 million Americans is now within reach.
Let us, at long last, grasp that result. Let us, this time, not let this good thing slip through our hands. And let us, at long last, enact health care reform for all.”
CMA Health Policy Blog 