North Oakland Democratic Club

Health Care Reform

The new health care reform law builds on our employer-based, private health care system, reins in insurance company abuses, improves Medicare, and provides more affordable options for small businesses and individuals without insurance.

I want you to have the facts, and my office is available to answer any specific questions you may have for yourself or your family.

The new law will end the worst insurance company practices.  Within six months, insurance companies will not be able to deny children care because of pre-existing conditions, drop people when they get sick, or have lifetime caps that limit benefits.   Insurance companies will be required to provide free preventive health care and allow adult children to stay on their parents insurance until they are 26.  More insurance market reforms, including a complete end to pre-existing condition denials and a cap on out-of-pocket expenses will be in place by 2014.

Small businesses and individuals without insurance will get tax credits to buy insurance.  The new law sets up exchanges where insurance companies are forced to compete openly and honestly for business and I will get my health care through these new exchanges.  For seniors, the new law adds benefits to Medicare such as a free annual physical and lower prescription drug costs.

Importantly, this new law is paid for by charging a fee to the insurers, device makers and drug companies who will have millions of new customers, and by increasing the Medicare tax by 0.9% for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans and applying it to investment as well as wage income.  Because the new law implements reforms to reduce paperwork, improve the coordination of care, and eliminate wasteful spending, the independent Congressional Budget office has estimated that it will cut the deficit by $1.3 trillion dollars over the next two decades.

I have provided for your review a three page summary of the new law.  In addition, I want you to know the improvements that happen in the first six months.

I believe the new law is an important step forward for our country.  Please contact my office at 586-498-7122  or use the box below if you have any specific questions that we may help to answer.

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Road to Recovery Video

http://www.barackobama.com/learn/about_ofa.php

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“This victory alone is not the change we seek —
it is only the chance for us to make that change.”

— President Barack Obama, Election Night, 2008

Organizing for America, the successor organization to Obama for America, is building on the movement that elected President Obama by empowering communities across the country to bring about our agenda of change.

In 2008, millions of Americans got involved in the political process — many for the first time — to fight for a new kind of politics and a better future for our country. Those voices enabled a new beginning — a chance to pursue the real world change our country needs. Now it’s time for our movement to rise again, stand with President Obama, and make that promise a reality.

There are many ways to get involved:

• Joining grassroots OFA campaigns to support the President’s agenda. Online, on the phone, on doorsteps and in town halls in communities across the country, we’re building the bottom-up support that makes real change possible.
• Spreading the word to friends and neighbors about the President’s approach on the big issues facing our nation, like health care, energy and education. Nothing is more powerful than your voice in your community.
• Serving our community in ways big and small. Rebuilding America starts today.
• Connecting with other supporters to form strong local groups, ready to take on whatever challenges we face.
• Supporting leaders who share our values and are ready to carry forward the fight for change .

Our task is enormous. To succeed, we’ll need all Americans, no matter how they may have voted, to join us in the work ahead. If we set aside the old politics that have kept us apart, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.

Together, we can create a sustainable and independent clean energy economy. We can provide all American children the first rate education they deserve. And we can finally guarantee high-quality, affordable health care to every American man, woman and child.

Last November, the American people sent Washington a clear mandate for change. But when the polls close, the true work of citizenship begins. That’s what Organizing for America is all about. Now, in this crucial time, our voice once again has extraordinary power. Let’s use it.