Health Care

Access to quality, affordable health care is critical to the well being of America, today and in the future. Central to this is addressing the needs of the 46 million uninsured Americans, strengthening the Medicare system, providing health insurance to our low-income children, funding cutting-edge research into cures for diseases, and giving patients the clout to challenge the decisions of health insurers. Only through action on these critical issues can we meet the pressing health care concerns of our nation.

Health Care Reform

On July 14th, the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees introduced America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. The three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the House have been working together as one committee to develop a single bill that fulfills President Obama’s goals of reducing health care costs, protecting and increasing consumers’ choices, and guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

On July 17th, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Education and Labor Committee approved the health insurance reform legislation, and on July 31st, the Energy and Commerce Committee passed the legislation out of committee. That means that all three House committees have now reported out health insurance reform legislation—the farthest comprehensive health reform effort has ever gotten. In the coming weeks, the Tri-Committee Members will work together to prepare the legislation for the House floor in September, ensuring that the principles of reducing health care costs, protecting and increasing consumers’ choices, and guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans are met.

Watch Speaker Pelosi, House Democratic Leaders and Chairmen, and Americans on the insurance reform bill:

We know our economy and fiscal future are tied to building on what works in our health care system and fixing what’s broken. A recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine showed two out of three personal bankruptcies in 2007 were a result of medical debt, even though more than 75% of those bankrupted had private health insurance. Since 1987, the cost of the average family health insurance policy has risen from 7% of median family income to 17%, with small business premiums rising 129% since 2000. Since the recession began, an estimated 4 million additional Americans have lost their health insurance – and are currently losing coverage at an average of 10,680 workers each day. Without health care reform, health care spending will rise to $4.4 trillion, more than one‐fifth of the economy, by 2018 and the number of the uninsured will reach 61 million by 2020.

Here’s what America’s Affordable Health Choices Act means for you:

LOWER COSTS

• No more co-pays or deductibles for preventive care
• No more rate increases for pre-existing conditions, gender, or occupation
• An annual cap on your out-of-pocket expenses
• Group rates of a national pool if you buy your own plan
• Guaranteed, affordable oral, hearing, and vision care for your kids

GREATER CHOICE

• Keep your doctor, and your current plan, if you like them
• More choice, with a high quality public health insurance option competing with private insurers

HIGHER QUALITY

• You and your doctors make health care decisions — not insurance companies
• More family doctors and nurses will enter the workforce, helping guarantee access
• Mental health care must be covered

STABILITY & PEACE OF MIND

• No more coverage denials for pre-existing conditions
• No more lifetime limits on how much insurance companies will pay
• No reason to ever make a job or life decision again based on health care coverage

Learn much more about the bill on our current legislation page>>

Follow recent news and action on health care reform on our blog, the Gavel>>

Health Care for Children

Democrats in Congress and President Obama provided a down-payment on children’s health by enacting the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization into law on February 4, 2009. The program currently provides health insurance for more than 7 million children, but this legislation will protect coverage for those children and expand it to include an additional 4 million children who would otherwise be uninsured. Similar bipartisan legislation was vetoed twice by President Bush in 2007. By extending health coverage to millions more children, this bill is an important first step in stemming the rising tide of the uninsured.

The reauthorization of the SCHIP program presents an historic opportunity to put an end to the morally unacceptable fact that nine million American children live every day without insurance.

The Gavel: House Sends State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act To President>>

Medicare for Seniors

Congress is working to maintain Medicare’s commitment to insure our seniors and reverse harmful cuts proposed by the Bush Administration. After President Bush vetoed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, H.R. 6331, the House overrode the President’s veto on July 15, 2008. This legislation prevents the pending 10 percent payment reduction for physicians in Medicare, enhances Medicare preventive and mental health benefits, improves and extends programs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, and extends expiring provisions for rural and other providers. 

Speaker Pelosi on the Medicare Improvements Act>>

Genetic Nondiscrimination

On May 1, 2008, the House passed Senate amendments to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, H.R. 493. On May 21, the President signed this landmark bill into law. The legislation will prohibit health insurance companies and employers from discriminating against people on the basis of genetic test results.  By prohibiting the improper use of genetic information, this bill encourages Americans to undergo testing necessary for early treatment and prevention of genetic-based diseases. 

Read Speaker Pelosi’s statement on the President signing the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act into law>>

Mental Health Equality

On March 5, 2008, the House passed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, H.R. 1424, which will end discrimination against patients seeking treatment for mental illnesses.  The bill was signed into law on October 3, 2008. The bill eliminates discriminatory provisions that erect obstacles to accessing care for Americans with mental health and addiction disorders.  The 1996 Mental Health Parity Act required equality only for annual and lifetime limits.  This bill requires equality across the terms of the health plan.




Watch Speaker Pelosi speak in support of the bill: