Every year the Appropriations Committee on which I serve
sets aside funding for local projects. Each Member of Congress
participates in directing these funds to their Congressional districts.
Project requests from constituent groups are an important
connection between national and local interests. Significant developments
are made possible by bringing much needed federal dollars to a project that
would otherwise be impossible to complete.
I direct my top priorities to projects that provide for
economic development, improved health care, better education, and renewable
energy.
On this page is a list of
projects that I have submitted to the Appropriations Committee for consideration for federal funding.
Every effort has been made to ensure this list is complete and accurate. If
your organization has submitted a project which does not appear on this list or
you are aware of such a project, please contact my office at (202) 225-5261.
As we debate health care in the House and Senate, I’d like to take an opportunity to dispel some rumors that are being spread about this groundbreaking legislation. First and foremost, this health reform plan will not put your insurance company out of business and force you into a socialized plan. If you like your insurance, you can keep it. The point is to offer health care to hardworking Americans who are denied coverage and care from the industry, but by no means do we intend to impose the public option for those who don’t need or want it.
Another rumor being spread around is that health care will be rationed by bureaucracy. This is completely not true. Under this proposal, doctors, nurses and patients will make medical decisions, not big insurance companies or the government. Our opponents want to leave patients at the mercy of big insurance companies that make decisions to protect their profits not your health.
One last myth I’d like to discuss is that Americans will be forced out of their current plans in this health reform plan. No American will be forced out of their current plan. If you like your plan, as I stated earlier, then you can keep it. This is an effort to make the employer-based system work better by giving every American the peace of mind of knowing that their health needs will be covered by insurance. No one will have to worry about being denied insurance based on a pre-existing condition, or being without coverage if their employer drops coverage, they lose their job, or change employers.
I will continue to address other myths about this plan as the week progresses.
The primary goal of a sound health care reform plan is to provide health care for every American while keeping cost low, but quality high. America’s Affordable Health Choices Act will open up a public health option that would compete with private insurers within the health insurance exchange. Private health insurance plans would still be available, but the public option would create a level playing field to allow each American to get health insurance at a competitive cost.
The public option would meet the same benefit requirements and comply with the same market reforms as private plans, and individuals with affordability credits can choose among private carriers and the public option. The public option will promote primary care, encourage coordinated care and shared accountability, and improve its quality. Provider participation is voluntary, and Medicare providers are presumed to be participating unless they opt out.
With a level playing field, self-sufficiency, innovation and cost containment, the public option provides a very viable alternative to private plans.
One of the ways that our new health care reform bill will help all Americans is by giving everyone the peace of mind that general benefits are guaranteed. The new Health Insurance Exchange covers a comprehensive set of necessary services and offers cost- sharing protections for consumers.
The Exchange establishes a standardized benefit package that covers essential health services. The exchange will also eliminate cost-sharing for preventive care for you as well as for infants and children. The House of Representatives chose to add this provision because we believe that preventive health services are essential for making America healthier and lowering the cost of health care over time. Preventative medicine such as regular check-ups, a healthy diet and exercise are the best ways to guard against chronic illness like heart disease and diabetes which aren’t just life threatening but are among the costliest diseases to treat. By making preventative medicine a core component of our health care plan, we will help bring down the major long-term costs and save the American consumer billions of dollars.
The Exchange will offer four tiers of benefit packages from which consumers can choose to best meet their health care needs. Each plan covers the core benefits.
Basic Plan: Includes the core set of covered benefits and cost sharing protections.
Enhanced Plan: Includes the core set of covered benefits with more generous cost sharing protections than the Basic plan.
Premium Plan: Includes the core set of covered benefits with more generous cost sharing protections than the Enhanced plan.
Premium Plus Plan: Includes the core set of covered benefits, the more generous cost sharing protections of the Premium plan, and additional covered benefits (e.g., oral health coverage for adults, gym membership, etc.) that will vary per plan. In this category, insurers must disclose the separate cost of the additional benefits so consumers know what they’re paying for and can choose among plans accordingly.
These measures are easy and affordable for every American to receive the health care they need to lead a productive, restriction-free life.
This week the House of Representatives began consideration of sweeping health care reform that promises to reduce our nation’s growing health care costs, cover all Americans and protects consumer choice. The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act will lower your health care costs by eliminating co-pays or deductibles for preventative care, bar rate increases for pre-existing conditions, place an annual cap on your out-of-pocket health expenses, and guarantee affordable oral, hearing and vision care for your children.
In addition, the bill will give you greater choice in your health care decisions. You will be able to keep your doctor, and your current plan, if you like them. There will also be a public health care option that you will be able to choose, which will operate in the marketplace and will compete with private insurers. But the greatest thing that this bill will accomplish is give all Americans stability and peace of mind.
No longer will insurance companies tell you and your doctor what to do. We are going to make sure that your health decisions are between you and your doctor, not an insurance adjuster at corporate headquarters. Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage to those who have pre-existing conditions and there will never be any lifetime limits on how much insurance companies will pay for your care. There is no reason why anyone will ever have to make an important life or career decision based on their health care coverage. We will accomplish all of this without raising rates on 99 f Americans.
Over the next three weeks I will be going into detail about many aspects of The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act. We’ll discuss the public option and how it will operate. How we intend to help low income Americans enter the system, and we will discuss how we’re going to fix Medicare and close the doughnut hole in Medicare Part D. Check back here regularly for updates.
