Dr. Kagen: Passage of Health Care Reform Bill Gives Americans Peace of Mind

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 21, 2010

DR. KAGEN: PASSAGE OF HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL GIVES AMERICANS PEACE OF MIND ONCE AGAIN

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D. made a historic vote this evening to begin to fix what is broken in our health care system and improve on what we already have.  The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a positive step in the right direction for the health of our citizens and our economy.

“Americans may now have peace of mind,” said Dr. Kagen. “With tonight’s vote, no longer will a child’s accident or illness cause their family to go broke and lose their home. Senior citizens will see a stronger and better Medicare and the prescription drug program’s donut hole begin to close. Small business owners will soon be able to buy health care coverage for themselves and their employees at the same discounts as big corporations.”

“In addition to these essential benefits, this new bill does what is rarely seen in Washington- it reduces our national deficit more and more every year, saving $1.3 trillion over time.”

With the President signature, the Affordable Health Care for America Act will have immediate benefits this year: small businesses that provide coverage to their employees will be eligible for a tax credit of up to 35% of premiums; those uninsured because of a pre-existing condition will be able to buy affordable coverage; insurers will be banned from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions; insurers will also be prohibited from dropping people when they get sick and placing restrictive lifetime or annual limits on coverage; young adults will be able to remain on their parents’ insurance until age 26.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act guarantees access to quality affordable health care for all of us, while also cutting the federal budget deficit by about $143 billion in the next ten-years, and 1.2 trillion in the decade after that. 

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