An American Solution - Quality Affordable Health Care
On November 7, 2009, Congressman Kendrick B. Meek took a historic step towards providing quality, affordable health care for all Americans by voting in favor of H.R. 3962, the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. The legislation marks an unprecedented step towards fixing our health care system by reducing skyrocketing costs, promoting competition among insurance plans to increase choices for patients, and increasing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
Key Provisions of H.R. 3962
- Coverage and Choice
- Affordability
- Shared Responsibility
- Controlling Costs
- Prevention and Wellness
- Workforce Investments
Coverage and Choice
H.R. 3962 builds on what works in today’s healthcare system and fixes the parts that are broken. It protects current coverage and preserves choice of doctors, hospitals, and health plans. If you like your current plan, doctor, or hospital, you can keep it. Some of the key reforms include:
- The creation of a health insurance exchange which would create an open market for individuals and small employers to comparison shop among private and public insurers. H.R. 3962 would provide Americans more choice in deciding which health plan they want for themselves and their families;
- A public health insurance option which would compete on a level playing field with the private insurance options within the exchange. It would provide choice of coverage to the many Americans who live in a region dominated by just one or two private insurers today;
- Guaranteed coverage – insurance companies will no longer be able to discriminate against people based on their age, ethnicity, family history, or presence of pre-existing conditions.
Affordability
To ensure that all Americans have affordable health coverage, H.R. 3962 would:
- Provide affordability credits to low and moderate income families and individuals to purchase the health care they need;
- Cap annual and lifetime out-of-pocket spending in order to prevent personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures due to medical expenses;
- Expand Medicaid and improve Medicare to include families and individuals that are currently not covered, and close the donut hole in Medicare so seniors aren’t bankrupted by prescription drug costs.
Shared Responsibility
The bill creates shared responsibility among individuals, employers, and government to ensure that all Americans have affordable coverage of essential health benefits.
- Individuals will be responsible for attaining and continuing health insurance coverage. Those who choose not to obtain coverage will pay a penalty of 2.5 percent of income above a specified level, not to exceed the cost of purchasing the coverage.
- Employers will share responsibility as well. H.R. 3962 gives employers the option of providing coverage for their workers or contributing to funds on their behalf. Small businesses with payrolls under $500,000 (86 percent of small businesses) are exempt from this requirement. Additionally, the government extends to small businesses a two-year tax credit to help employers transition to providing insurance for their employees.
- The government will be responsible for ensuring that every American can afford quality health insurances, through consumer protection, insurance reforms, and improvements to Medicare and Medicaid.
Prevention and Wellness
A focus on prevention and maintaining good health bring down costs and improve health for everyone. Prevention and wellness measures in H.R. 3962 include:
- The expansion of community health centers, funds to strengthen public health departments and programs, the prohibition of cost-sharing for preventative services, and a focus on community-based programs that help ensure the future good health of our citizens.
Workforce Investments
One obstacle to a better health care system in our country is a shortage of doctors. H.R. 3962 would expand the health care workforce through:
- Increased funding for the National Health Service Corp;
- More training of primary care doctors, and the expansion of loans and scholarships for individuals in needed professions and shortage areas.
Controlling Costs
Too many Americans cannot afford the healthcare they need, and many others are brought to the edge of bankruptcy by skyrocketing medical costs. True health care reform must bring health care costs under control. H.R. 3962 does this by:
- Modernizing and improving Medicare to reward the efficient provision of health care;
- Improving payment accuracy and eliminating overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans, which will also put Medicare on stronger footing for the future;
- Reducing administrative costs through simplifying the paperwork burden that adds tremendous costs and hassles for patients, providers, and businesses;
- Creating a public health care option that is empowered to implement innovative delivery reform, reducing costs and raising the quality of care.
