Health Care
House Democrats are committed to expanding access to quality, affordable health care coverage, strengthening protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and lowering prescription drug prices and the cost of health care overall.
Under President Biden and Congressional Democrats, the uninsured rate is at an all-time low. While Republicans vote against legislation to lower health care costs, House Democrats are working to bring down the overall costs of health care and increase access to health care coverage.
With the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, House Democrats took direct action to reduce health care costs for millions of Americans. For the first time, Medicare will be able to negotiate prescription drug prices for high-cost drugs. The law also caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients at $2,000 annually and establishes a $35 cap for a month’s supply of insulin. The Inflation Reduction Act also protects progress made under President Biden to expand access to quality, affordable health care coverage by continuing the expanded premium tax credits originally passed in the American Rescue Plan, which lowered health care premiums for millions of working families.
This built upon the Affordable Care Act – enacted by President Obama and Congressional Democrats in 2010 – that has put American families in control of their own health care and ended a system that put profits ahead of patients. Since its enactment, 35 million Americans have gained access to quality, affordable health coverage. Americans with pre-existing conditions can no longer be discriminated against by insurance companies. Parents can now keep their children on their insurance plans up to age twenty-six. Insurance companies are no longer allowed to put annual or lifetime limits on coverage or drop people when they get sick. Additionally, thanks to the law, Medicare costs – from premiums and deductibles to overall program spending – have slowed to well below the levels projected before the law passed.
These reforms were crucial, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic struck but more action was needed. That’s why House Democrats worked to enact legislation right away - without any Republican support - to ensure that testing, treatment, and vaccinations for COVID-19 would be covered with no out-of-pocket costs to Americans.
House Democrats remain committed to the goal of affordable, accessible health care for all.
I am pleased that today the House passed a one-month extension of the current Medicare physician payment rates and will now send the bill to the President’s desk for his signature.
Tonight, the Senate passed a one month extension of the current Medicare physician payment rates. It is my intention to schedule this bill for consideration when the House reconvenes on November 29th, so we can send it to the President's desk prior to the November 30th expiration date of current SGR relief.
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/pressroom/2010/03/av/hcletter.pdf
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=1290
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/health_reform_works.html
The Republicans unveiled their "Pledge to America" last week and, just as we thought, it contained no new ideas and was a return to the "exact same" failed agenda as President Bush. Their agenda to return to their previous policies makes it clear who they stand with—big corporations and special interests, instead of middle class families.
Today, Republicans unveiled their agenda to give insurance companies control over Americans' health care. They have no real reform plan to rein in costs and protect patients. In fact, Republicans would take us back to the status quo of skyrocketing health care costs and unfair insurance practices.