Health Reform Working for Millions of Americans, Rep. Miller Tells Western Pennsylvanians: News of the Day

This afternoon, the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee is holding a field hearing on the Affordable Care Act in Butler, PA. Ahead of the hearing, Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Committee, penned a column in The Butler Eagle (subscription required) explaining how millions of Americans are already being helped by the Affordable Care Act:

Today, thanks to reform, young adults can stay on their parents’ plan if they aren’t offered coverage at work. Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians are eligible for this.

Cancer patients’ insurance can’t be taken away from them in the middle of life-saving treatments.

An estimated 86 million Americans have already gotten preventive screenings without having to make a co-pay.

And in 2014, every Pennsylvanian will have access to affordable health insurance that cannot be denied because of a preexisting condition. While small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempted from the law, if they do choose to provide insurance, a business owner will be able to access a new marketplace of affordable private insurance options competing for their business.  

Finally, the law improves Medicare. Seniors’ are now receiving preventive screening with no copays and their prescription drugs are cheaper by an average of $662 per senior. The law will now reward the quality of the care you get, not just the number of tests you receive. Average Medicare Advantage premiums are lower this year nationwide and more seniors are expected to enroll – the exact opposite of what many critics said.

Miller goes on to warn of the dire consequences if the Republicans’ plan to end the Medicare program as we know it moves forward. “Under the Republican plan, you would be abandoned, left on your own to find a policy from insurance companies with a coupon or voucher that shrinks in value over time…[and] you will be responsible for the vast majority of your health care costs, even if you have spent decades paying into the system.”

To learn more about how the Affordable Care Act is helping millions of Americans, click here. 

Full text of the column:

Health Reform Working for Western Pennsylvanians

By U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

The Affordable Care Act became the law of the land nearly two years ago. Tomorrow, this historic reform is the subject of a congressional hearing in Butler called by Washington Republicans on the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

While we should be working together on the most pressing issues facing Western Pennsylvania, like job creation, I expect this hearing will repeat the stale attacks against reform and ignore the positive impacts of the law.

The fact is, despite all of the heated rhetoric, the sky hasn’t fallen. Instead, the Affordable Care Act is beginning to deliver for businesses, families and seniors.  And it isn’t the job killer that Republicans will claim at tomorrow’s hearing: More than 3.5 million private-sector jobs have been created since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law.

You deserve the truth on what the law does.

Today, thanks to reform, young adults can stay on their parents’ plan if they aren’t offered coverage at work. Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians are eligible for this.

Cancer patients’ insurance can’t be taken away from them in the middle of life-saving treatments.

An estimated 86 million Americans have already gotten preventive screenings without having to make a co-pay.

And in 2014, every Pennsylvanian will have access to affordable health insurance that cannot be denied because of a preexisting condition. While small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempted from the law, if they do choose to provide insurance, a business owner will be able to access a new marketplace of affordable private insurance options competing for their business.  

Finally, the law improves Medicare. Seniors’ are now receiving preventive screening with no copays and their prescription drugs are cheaper by an average of $662 per senior. The law will now reward the quality of the care you get, not just the number of tests you receive. Average Medicare Advantage premiums are lower this year nationwide and more seniors are expected to enroll – the exact opposite of what many critics said.

All of this would all go away if reform were repealed.

The law also encourages better coordination of care among all health providers and includes many ideas that top experts believe will control costs without rationing care.

The same can’t be said about Republicans’ plan to end the Medicare program as we know it. News reports indicate that House Republicans will again try to end the Medicare guarantee if you are younger than 55. This means seniors would no longer have the peace of mind of a guaranteed set of benefits. Under the Republican plan, you would be abandoned, left on your own to find a policy from insurance companies with a coupon or voucher that shrinks in value over time. 

This also means you will be responsible for the vast majority of your health care costs, even if you have spent decades paying into the system. If you are 54 today, you will have to save at least $182,000 more when you turn 65 just to pay for health care. That’s around $250 extra a week. If you’re younger than 54, you’ll have to save much more.

I don’t know a whole lot of working people who can scrape up an extra $182,000 before they retire.

The Affordable Care Act is not perfect. The same could have been said for Social Security or Medicare when they were passed. But we didn’t give up because it didn’t include everything everyone wanted. No, we stuck with them and today, millions of seniors are able to enjoy a dignified retirement.

Now is not the time to turn back the clock and let insurance companies stand in the way of you and quality care. It is time, however, for Congress to start working together to put more Americans back to work.