Congressman and AARP Discuss Support for Affordable Health Care for America Act

By Rick Banas, Vice President of Strategic Marketing at BMA Management

While differing on why and the costs involved, a US Congressman and a representative of AARP explained their support of the Affordable Health Care for America Act at the Health Care Reform Forum held this past Saturday in St. Charles, Illinois.

I had the opportunity to attend the Forum, which was hosted by AARP and featured presentations by Congressman Bill Foster, who represents Illinois District 14, and Heather Heppner, of AARP’s Chicago office.

“We have a system of health care coverage that is broken,” Heppner noted as she discussed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 7.

AARP endorsed the Act because it addresses critical issues of importance to our members and because it is budget neutral.

According to Heppner, the Act . . .

  • Protects Medicare benefits and puts Medicare on much stronger financial ground.
  • Addresses over a 10-year period of time the Medicare Part D “Donut Hole” issue, which has some seniors paying for the full cost of medications plus Medicare part D coverage.
  • Prevents health insurance denial because of pre-existing conditions.
  • Prevents insurance companies from discrimination based on gender.
  • Extends Medicaid coverage to 150% of the poverty level.
  • Helps strengthen the ability for seniors to age in place through Community Living and Supportive Services.
  • Contains a Health Insurance Exchange Provision that will encourage competition among insurance companies for our business.
  • Includes a Public Plan Option for those unable to find health insurance.
  • Includes Individual and Employee Mandates requiring individuals to have health insurance coverage and employers to provide coverage for employees.

Congressman Foster stated that it is crystal clear that “we are paying too much for health care and too many people are becoming uninsurable.” The health care system in the United States is “one of the most expensive for the results that you get.”

After taking the opportunity to read all 1,950 pages of the Act, he says that “I can rattle off a lot of things that are not perfect about the bill,” but support the legislation because it “contains a lot of provisions that I believe are important,” especially to the people who live and work in his district.

In a special report that was available at the Forum, Foster cites 10 principles for secure and affordable healthcare:

  • Job one is to reduce health care costs for families and businesses. We cannot afford to have the cost of health care double like it has in the past 10 years.
  • Cut giveaways to insurance and drug companies. There can be no cuts in Medicare.
  • Stop insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and from capping lifetime benefits.
  • You should not lose your insurance coverage if you change or lose your job.
  • We should put the nation on a path of assuring affordable, quality health care coverage for every America citizen and their children.
  • Reforms must preserve existing choices of doctors and health plans.
  • Reform should not increase the debt burden for our children.
  • Workers cannot be taxed for the health care benefits they receive.
  • Insurance policies must encourage individual responsibility with wellness programs and reward Americans for healthy choices.
  • We should use computerization of patient records and advanced technology to improve the quality of care and prevent medical errors.

According to Foster, health care reform will cost money. “I don’t think it does anyone any good to think that this will not cost money.” He cited two ways to pay for the additional costs. One way is to tax the health care benefits provided to workers by their employers, which is not a method Foster supports because “it will hurt the middle class.” He supports the approach of adding a surtax on people who earn more than $1 million a year.

When asked about what we can do about Medicare fraud to help cut health care costs, Foster stated that it is “my feeling that we are not spending enough on enforcement. We have to work harder at it, but the enforcement budget has historically been underfunded.

When asked about the House Bill not including a provision to allow portability across state lines, Foster felt that health care insurance is better regulated at the state level. “States can agree to cross market insurance plans,” he said.

Congressman Foster complimented AARP for being “on our case every single week” about health care reform.

He hopes the Senate will act as well.

Do you agree? Please share your views with us by clicking on Comments.

Also, watch for Blogs reflecting other views on health care reform in the coming weeks.


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