Here is what I got...
Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts about health care reform.
The debate over health insurance is not just about people currently without coverage. It’s also about small business owners and their employees. It’s about the individuals who are losing their jobs (and health insurance) due to the ongoing recession, as well as people approaching the age for Medicare eligibility who want to make sure this popular, government run health insurance program is still around when they retire.
Health care costs are spiraling out of control. This year, every insured American family will pay $1,017 in insurance premiums just to cover the emergency medical expenses of the uninsured. This “hidden health care tax,” which totals approximately $42 billion annually, subsidizes the uncompensated health care costs of the uninsured and is a growing burden on the system as a whole.
Without reform, the cost of health care for the average family of four is projected to rise $1,800 every year for years to come. Worse still, insurance companies will be increasingly responsible for health care decisions, limiting individuals’ ability to make decisions about what care they receive. According to a recent study conducted by the Harvard Medical School, more than 45,000 Americans die every year due to lack of access to affordable healthcare. Without reform, this figure will only increase.
America’s middle class deserves better. America’s families need affordable, stable health care coverage that can’t be taken away from them and that is why I was proud to join my colleagues in passing HR 3629, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Here’s what the Affordable Health Care for America Act means to 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 plan if you buy your own insurance
.Guaranteed and affordable dental, hearing, and vision care for your children
.No more “donut hole” for seniors
.Negotiated drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries
.Expanded Medicaid subsidies to increase affordability
GREATER CHOICE
.Keep your doctor and your current plan, if you like them
.More options, with a high quality public health insurance option competing with private insurers in a transparent, regulated marketplace
.Ends the loophole exempting health insurance companies from current anti-trust laws
.Allows for the sale of insurance plans across state lines if states agree
HIGHER QUALITY
.You and your doctors make health care decisions ?” not insurance companies
.More family doctors and nurses entering the workforce, helping guarantee access
.Mental health care must be covered
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Reduces the deficit by $103 billion over ten years
Ends unfair Medicare payment system that penalizes states like Oregon
Creates new system to reward quality and efficiency
STABILITY & PEACE OF MIND
.No more coverage denials for pre-existing conditions
.Increased coverage means 96% of Americans will have health insurance
.No more lifetime limits on how much insurance companies will pay
.No reason to ever again make a job or life decision based on the fear of losing health care coverage
You can read the entire bill and summaries of each of the sections on my website, www.blumenauer.house.gov.
There are a lot of myths and outright lies about health care reform still being spread by people who want to keep the status quo. While it’s important to have an honest debate about how much government should be involved, how we get the best value for our dollar, and what regulations are put in place to make sure the insurance companies don’t end up gouging the American taxpayer, we need to reject the divisive tactics and rhetoric from those who have no interest in making our country healthier.
On that note, I want to take this opportunity to address some concerns I’ve heard and clear up some misconceptions regarding HR 3269:
.This bill does NOT raise taxes on low and middle-class families. A small surtax on millionaires will cover most of the cost of health insurance reform. Furthermore, this increase will not occur during a recession, but is set to be implemented in 2011, long after economists predict the recession will end.
.This bill does NOT cover anyone who resides in this country illegally. H.R. 3269 specifically forbids federal dollars from going towards health insurance for undocumented workers.
.This bill does NOT create “death panels” or euthanize our senior citizens. The Affordable Healthcare for America Act simply allows Medicare to reimburse health professionals for a voluntary conversation about end-of-life decisions between a patient and a doctor, at the patient’s behest. Like all Medicare benefits, this is a voluntary benefit! If patients don’t want to discuss their health care wishes, they don’t have to.
.This bill does NOT use taxpayer money to fund abortions. HR 3269 prohibits federal funds for abortion services in the public option. It also prohibits individuals who receive affordability credits from purchasing a plan that provides elective abortions. This bill also maintains federal conscience protection laws and does not supersede state laws restricting abortion.
.This bill does NOT exempt Members of Congress and other government employees from following the same guidelines as everybody else. Any health care plan used by a federal employee or elected official will be subject to the same reforms as all other private plans.
.This bill does NOT cut Medicare coverage. This bill does include Medicare reforms designed to lower costs and increase efficiency, but NOT at the expense of caring for enrollees.
.This bill does NOT abolish the private health insurance system in this country. Under the bill, patients would be able to keep their private insurance, and there would be no mandate to switch plans or join the public insurance option. This bill is all about giving people options and letting them choose the type of care that best works for them.
Since the start of this debate, opponents of reform have repeatedly claimed that the process has not been transparent, or that it has been rushed and the details of the proposed bill are not well understood. These claims are not true. Since 2007, the House has held 100 hearings on health care, and this year alone we have held close to 3,000 health care events in our districts. Three House committees have spent 160 hours in public hearings and markups of health care legislation, and much of HR 3269 has now been available for public review and comment for more than three months. The full text of the bill was available for Members of Congress, the media and all citizens to read and consider long before the vote
Thank you again for your interest and involvement. I hope you will continue to be engaged in this debate in the coming months. I encourage you to visit my website (www.blumenauer.house.gov) for more information about the Affordable Health Care for America Act and health insurance reform in general.
Sincerely,
Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress
In the 4th district we'll probably remain stuck with Soviet operative Defazio. On the Republican side we have a popular RINO mayor who is being preemptively hammered by the Democrats on alleged campaign finance irregularities, and an unknown woman from Roseburg who is a solid conservative and constitutionalist but not an especially good public speaker. I like her and if nobody else emerges I would vote for her over the RINO, but she's not going to appeal to the oh-so modern and sophisticated that inhabit this neck of the woods.