Senate Health Care Bill: Moving in the Right Direction
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Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) officially released the Senate’s version of health care reform legislation, a major step toward the health care reform bill America has been waiting for. The first vote to begin debate on this historic bill could happen as soon as Saturday.
It’s an improved bill from the one passed by the Senate Finance Committee last month. It still falls short of an ideal bill but, like the one passed by the U.S. House earlier this month, it greatly increases coverage, helps make health insurance more affordable and includes a public health insurance option to compete with insurance companies.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says Reid has shown courage and leadership in bringing a good bill to the full Senate. Trumka says the bill is a step in the right direction, because it would cover 31 million people, control costs, include a public option and cut $127 billion from the deficit in the first decade. Trumka notes that unfortunately, while many of the bill’s financing mechanisms are fair, it is still partially funded through a tax on health benefits.
Here’s What Health Care Reform Means for Working Families
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| The AFL-CIO is running an ad in support of health care reform in newspapers in the Washington, D.C., area. |
Within days, the U.S. House will vote on a historic health care reform bill that will cover everyone, cut costs and protect families from insurance company abuses.
The House bill, H.R. 3962—the Affordable Health Care for America Act—has provisions that will help families now and in the long term, all while decreasing the nation’s deficit.
Although some provisions of reform will require time to implement, here are key changes that will kick in immediately, providing direct and critical relief to millions of working families:
- An immediate insurance program for high-risk uninsured people to buy into.
- Ending “rescissions”—prohibiting insurers from nullifying coverage when patients file claims.
- Ending the lifetime caps on how much care insurers will cover.
- Allowing young people to stay on their parents’ policies until age 27.
- Allowing workers who have lost coverage because they lost their job to extend COBRA coverage.
- New incentive programs to increase the number of doctors.
- Funding for community health centers.
- Reducing the “donut hole” in Medicare prescription drug coverage—which right now doesn’t cover any drug costs between $2,700 and $4,050.
- A new fund to help employers pay for coverage for early retirees.
Union Plus Launches Online Health Care Help
The just-launched Union Plus Health Care site helps union members save on health care costs and provides consumer advice for better health-related decisions.
The new Union Plus Health Care site includes:
• Updated Union Plus programs, including a free prescription card.
• Links to information for health-related financial hardship.
• Top 10 health-related websites.
• AFL-CIO health care legislative reform updates.
Here’s a look at some of the specific benefits.
You can save up to 40 percent on prescription drugs at participating pharmacies with the free Union Plus Prescription Card. Click here.
Prescription Drug Donut Hole: ‘Sweetheart Deal’ for Big Pharma
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Phil Feaster, a retired truck driver from Fort Washington, Md., is one of more than 24 million seniors in Medicare’s prescription drug program, the program that is supposed to cover most of the prescription drug expenses for participants.
But Feaster, a member of the Alliance for Retired Americas, like 3.4 million other Medicare Part D enrollees, falls into a very expensive “donut hole.”
For Feaster, it’s a $700 a month hole that he hopes will be closed by comprehensive health care reform legislation introduced today in the House of Representatives.
Speaking at a Capitol Hill press conference yesterday, Feaster said:
My generation likes to tell it like it is: The donut hole is a rip-off. You pay money, but get nothing in return. Can you imagine going to a restaurant where all they give you is an empty plate—but yet they still force you to pay for a full meal? Of course not.
Write Letter, Win Pen: A Retiree’s Prescription for Health Care Reform
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Alliance for Retired Americans President Barbara J. Easterling encourages union retirees to contact their local newspapers about health care—and get a free union-made Retirees with the Write Stuff pen.
As Congress begins to vote on health care reform, we must all make our voices heard. One of the most effective ways to do this is by writing a letter to the editor.
In many newspapers, the Letters to the Editor page is the most widely read section. Not only can you help educate others in your community, but you can get noticed by savvy elected officials who keep a close eye on these letters to gauge the mood of their constituents.
Retirees with the Write Stuff is simple: Write letter, win pen. If a newspaper runs your letter about health care or any other retiree topic, send us a copy and you will receive a free, union-made Retirees with the Write Stuff pen.
