Health Care Reform

[kelly38]

The health care bill just passed in Congress, now your Senators will play an especially important role in whether strong patient protections in health care reform get accomplished this year. As you know, Congress has been hard at work for more than a year now on comprehensive health insurance reform legislation. Last night the House passed the health insurance reform bill that the Senate had passed in December. It now goes to the President to be signed into law. This legislation expands health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and provides patients with real protections against preexisting conditions and medical bankruptcy. But the House also passed last night a budget reconciliation bill that includes even stronger patient protections. The reconciliation bill now goes to the U.S. Senate.

The reconciliation bill extends to all existing health insurance plans starting six months after enactment:
• the prohibition of lifetime limits,
• prohibition on rescissions, limitations on excessive waiting periods,
• and a requirement to provide coverage for non-dependent children up to age 26 (prior to 2014, the requirement on group health plans is limited to those adult children without an employer offer of coverage).
For group health plans, the reconciliation bill:
• prohibits pre-existing condition exclusions in 2014,
• restricts annual limits beginning six months after enactment, and prohibits them starting in 2014.

The reconciliation bill also provides additional subsidies to make sure that lower income patients can afford to purchase insurance, and it closes the Medicare donut hole. I am hopeful that the Senate will pass the reconciliation bill with these stronger patient provisions this week before it adjourns on Friday for two weeks. If you want to help to assure that the final health care reform package contains insurance reforms and affordability provisions that are critically important to patients. Please contact your Senators and ask them to pass the reconciliation bill this week.

Health care reform is not done. If you support this reform please continue to write both of your Senators because they will play a very important role in passing health care reconciliation bill.

[kelly38]

If you wish to e-mail your two Senators in support of the reconciliation bill, that is now going to the Senate, this is one example of a sample letter. You can get contact information here http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml


March 23, 2010


Dear [your Senators name inserted here],

As your constituent and as a strong supporter of health insurance reform, I am writing to urge you to pass the reconciliation bill with strong patient protections and affordability provisions this week before the Senate adjourns.

This legislation is critically important to fully protect patients and ensure access to care. Your vote in support of the reconciliation bill is especially important to patients across the country because this legislation will assure that all existing health insurance plans starting six months after enactment contain, among other things:

* a prohibition of lifetime limits,
* a prohibition on rescissions,
* a limitation on excessive waiting periods,
* a requirement to provide coverage for non-dependent children up to age 26 And in group health plans, the reconciliation bill will:
* prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions in 2014,
*restrict annual limits beginning six months after enactment, and prohibit them starting in 2014.

The reconciliation bill also provides additional resources to make sure that lower income patients can afford to purchase insurance, and it closes the Medicare donut hole.

Patients throughout the country with chronic, life-threatening and debilitating conditions are struggling to gain and/or maintain access to health care and health care coverage. These patients need the strongest possible protections to make certain they have access to affordable health insurance.

Health insurance reform to expand coverage to the uninsured and underinsured, to control health care spending and to provide patients with real protection and affordability is urgently needed now.

Your vote in support of the reconciliation bill is very important to me, and I urge you to support getting this legislation passed in the Senate this week.

Sincerely,