Health Care Reform: The Law of the Land

History was made as the President signed the Senate Health Care bill into law today. The Senate is expected to vote on the reconciled bill this Friday. Efforts to repeal Health Care Reform are underway already.

Our Attorney General Cuccinelli has threatened to sue the federal government over this bill. He is being joined by several Attorneys General from other states. Below are a few highlights of the bill that go into effect immediately. The VBDC’s new Communications Committee Chair, Valerie Morrison, has compiled a few highlights of the bill that will go into effect immediately.

Congressman Nye made the most difficult vote he is likely to ever make this week, one he described to me as a “gut wrenching vote.” I know that the Congressman supported very many of the provisions of the reform bill, but there were several aspects of the bill he could not in good conscience support because he simply felt they were wrong.  He believed strongly in the need for reform, but he believed that this was the wrong reform. There is no doubt that all of us will have a lot of time in the future to discuss this vote and other future votes with him.   My personal feelings on this particular vote aside, I want to thank the Congressman for voting 85% of the time with the Democratic Party in a Republican district.  What a change that is from Drake’s two terms of voting 98% of the time with the Republicans.

Susan Mariner
Chair, Virginia Beach Democratic Committee

Five Immediate CONSUMER BENEFITS under Health Reform

1. Stops insurance companies from denying care based on “pre-existing conditions.”

• Immediately people who are uninsured due to a pre-existing condition can buy insurance through a special insurance program
• Within 6 months of passage, no new health plan can discriminate against children with pre-existing conditions.
• In a few years, no insurance plan can deny coverage to anyone for pre-existing conditions.

2. Stops some of the worst insurance company abuses. Insurance companies can no longer:

• Cancel insurance coverage retroactively when you get sick (rescission)
• Put lifetime limits on the dollar value of benefits

3. Expands coverage and care for the uninsured and people with insurance:

• Allow young adults up to age 26 to stay covered on their parents’ insurance
• Offer free preventive benefits in new plans

4. Reduces prescription drug costs for seniors.

• Seniors whose spending falls into Medicare’s prescription drug donut hole will have hundreds of dollars of immediate help and the entire coverage gap will be eliminated over time.

5. Saves money for small businesses.

• Small businesses choosing to offer coverage to workers will receive a tax benefit of up to 35% of premiums.

And these steps lay the groundwork for covering an additional 31 million uninsured Americans so that –

For example, a family of 3 earning $37,000 would pay less than $200 per month for good health insurance for the entire family. The family’s out-of-pocket costs would be limited, too, so even if someone in the family faced a serious illness, they would not have to pay more than $4,000 in out-of-pocket expenses.