• Als Spam markieren
• Beitrag melden

• 
  Diese Gruppe Alles

• Archiv
• RSS-Feeds

• Kontakt
• Hilfe
• Impressum
• Datenschutz

#AARP to back House Health Care Reform bill

AP Sources: Dem Health bill to get AARP backing

AP Sources: House Democratic health care bill to be endorsed by the AARP

ERICA WERNER and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
AP News

Nov 04, 2009 18:20 EST

In a coup for House Democrats, AARP will endorse sweeping health care
overhaul legislation headed for a history-making floor vote, officials
told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

An endorsement from the seniors' lobby was critical when then-President
George W. Bush pushed the Medicare prescription drug benefit through a
closely divided Congress in 2003. House Democratic leaders are hoping it
will work the same political magic for them as they strive to deliver on
President Barack Obama's signature issue.

An announcement from the 40-million member group is expected Thursday,
said officials with knowledge of the group's decision. They spoke on
condition of anonymity because the endorsement is not official yet.

Backing the 10-year, $1.2 trillion House bill is a tricky move for AARP.
Many retirees are concerned about cuts in Medicare payments to medical
providers, which will be used to finance an expansion of health insurance
coverage to millions of working families who now lack it. Also, AARP says
its membership is about evenly divided among Democrats, Republicans and
independents, meaning its endorsement in today's highly politicized
atmosphere could anger many members.

Floor votes on the House bill could come as early as this weekend. Asked
Wednesday if Democratic leaders had the 218 needed for passage, House
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., responded: "We're counting. We're
counting."

House leaders moved on Wednesday to shore up support for the measure
among the Democratic rank-and-file, even as they sharpened their fight
with the health insurance industry.

Last minute changes to the legislation, released late Tuesday night,
started a 72-hour legislative clock and cleared the way for votes as
early as Saturday.

In a move aimed directly at health insurance companies, the revised House
bill would launch a federal-state crackdown on what it terms "unjustified
premium increases." Insurers have sought above all to block creation of a
government insurance plan, which happens to be the top legislative goal
for liberals.

Under the bill, insurance companies would have to publicly disclose the
justification for premium increases before they go into effect. The
federal Health and Human Services department would monitor patterns of
premium increases, and could take action if the price hikes are out of
line. The bill would also provide $1 billion to state insurance
commissioners, allowing them to ramp up their own enforcement.

Democrats also strengthened a provision that would strip the industry of
its decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws.

Supporters said the tougher approach is needed to keep insurance
companies from artificially boosting premiums in advance of the major
reforms taking effect in 2013.

Other late changes to the bill, such as enhanced status for the
government's office of minority health, were intended as sweeteners for
supportive lawmakers, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

With no Republican backing for the measure, Democrats will need
overwhelming support from their own. A festering intra-party disagreement
over how to prevent federal funds from being used to pay for abortion
remained unresolved Wednesday morning.

The House bill is estimated to expand coverage to about 96 percent of
eligible Americans. Beginning in 2013, it would provide government
subsidies to extend coverage to tens of millions who now lack it, and ban
insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-
existing medical problems.

For the three years before the federal aid starts flowing, the bill would
set up a temporary "high-risk pool" through which people who have been
denied coverage because of poor health could obtain a government-
subsidized policy.

The bill would set up health insurance "exchanges" through which self-
employed people and small businesses could buy coverage, either from a
private insurer or a new government plan that would compete. All the
plans sold through the exchange would have to follow basic consumer
protection rules, making it easier to shop and compare among them.

The majority of middle-class Americans covered under big employer plans
would not see dramatic changes. But coverage for the poor through
Medicaid would be significantly expanded.

Seniors in traditional Medicare would get improved preventive benefits.
Also, the prescription coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole" would be
gradually closed. However, seniors signed up for private insurance plans
through Medicare could lose some benefits, as the bill scales back extra
payments that the plans have been getting.

In addition to raising money by cutting payments to hospitals and other
medical providers, the House bill boosts taxes on upper-income earners.
Democrats also moved Tuesday to close a biofuel tax credit loophole,
raising about $23 billion to help pay for the legislation.

____

Associated Press writers David Espo and Alan Fram contributed to this
story.

Antworten