5 things about health care reform
We are coming down the home stretch on passing President Obama's historic health care reform. And while the media is focusing on the politics and procedures of the House of Representatives, I want to focus your attention to what I think is much more important: What is in the bill that will improve your life and the lives of your family.
Below are five reasons health care reform is good for you, your family and the economy. This list is certainly not exhaustive, but after months of debate dominated by false charges of government death panels and socialized medicine, I believe now is the time to fight back with facts.
1) Insurance Company Reforms.
Health insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, or issue exorbitant rate hikes when we get sick and need care the most.
2) Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors and Stronger Medicare
More than half a million New York seniors will be rescued from the Part D "Doughnut Hole," receiving access to affordable, lifesaving prescription drugs through a stronger, more efficient Medicare system.
3) Affordability - Competition for Consumers, Small Business Tax Credits
1.6 million New Yorkers and 250,000 New York small businesses could receive tax credits to help them purchase affordable health insurance plans that are right for them.
4) Preventative Health Care, Lowering the National Deficit
By focusing on preventative health care, we'll be able to cut waste from our health care system, and reduce the national deficit by $138 billion in 10 years and $1.3 trillion in 20 years.
5) 2.7 Million New Yorkers Will Finally Have Access to Affordable Care
They will no longer need to go right to the emergency room when they get sick; lowering costs for everyone. And while our state is facing a historic budget crisis, this legislation will provide billions more through Medicaid to help treat children and families who have been hit the hardest in these difficult economic times.
Please arm yourself with this information and share it with your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Real change is never easy, and this has been a long and hard fought battle, but we are on the eve of an historic opportunity for America. Together, we will deliver a bill to the President's desk that gets us one step closer to affordable, quality healthcare for all Americans.
Sincerely,
Kirsten Gillibrand
Disclosure: I am a supporter of, and a contributor to, Kirsten's Senate bid. I don't have to agree with a politician 100-percent of the time, that's a libel used by the corporate wing of the Democratic Party against its progressive wing. It is progressives that have always been forced to compromise, often at the point of the gun or aboard Air Force One. Name one compromise made by the corporatists to the progressives.