FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2009
CONTACT
Rebecca Alper
Program Associate
Office: (609) 394-8155 x313
Mobile: (617) 840-5999
Email: ralper@njpirg.org
CONSUMER GROUP PRAISES FINAL HOUSE HEALTH CARE BILL
Statement by New Jerseay Public Interest Research Group's Program Associate, Rebecca Alper, on the Introduction of the House Health Reform Bill
“With the announcement of the final House health care bill on Thursday, consumers and small businesses, burdened by the rising cost of health care, can now look forward to more security, better choices and lower costs.
“Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Majority Leader Hoyer (D-MD) and the House Leadership team, Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), and Chairman George Miller (D-CA), as well as members of the Progressive and Blue Dog Caucuses all deserve congratulations for a tough, but successful, process of negotiation which has brought the bill so close to a vote on the floor. It's now up to the full membership of the House to finish the job.
“This legislation contains several features which are critical to securing quality affordable health care for consumers and small businesses:
• Bans on the most egregious insurance industry practices: pre-existing condition denials, lifetime or yearly caps on benefits, price discrimination based on health history, and rescission of coverage based on small enrollment form errors once you get sick.
• An Institute of Medicine study on care quality and value that will propose provider payment approaches that encourage better care at lower cost. These recommendations will automatically go into effect in 2013 unless a law is passed to stop their implementation.
• A strong, national Health Insurance Exchange which allows small businesses and individuals without affordable employer-based coverage to pool their bargaining power and negotiate better deals with insurers.
• A public health insurance plan option, competing on a level playing field with private coverage plans in the exchange. This public option would generate much needed choice and competition, leading to lower costs for consumers, small businesses, and the nation.
• Research into which treatments work best, so that consumers and their providers can be armed with the latest science when making decisions about care.
• New incentives for primary and preventive care, keeping Americans healthy and away from expensive unneeded emergency room visits.
• Health information IT and simplified administration to reduce administrative costs.
• An end to expensive drug and insurance industry subsidies, by allowing the government to purchase low-income seniors' prescription drugs at lower Medicaid prices and cutting subsidies to private insurers, currently paid by Medicare.”
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NJPIRG is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization. For more information visit http://www.njpirg.org.
