Health Care Blog

Health Reform, One Week Later

Today, President Obama spoke to an audience in Maine to discuss how health reform will benefit individuals, families, and small business owners, making good on the promise he made during his last visit “that our government would once again be responsive to the needs and aspirations of working families, of America’s middle class.”

He talked about the misinformation that has been spread by opponents of the bill, including House Minority Leader John Boehner’s labeling of health reform as “Armageddon.” The President said:

After I signed the bill, I looked around.  I looked up at the sky to see if asteroids were coming.  I looked at the ground to see if cracks had opened up in the earth.  You know what, it turned out it was a pretty nice day.  Birds were still chirping.  Folks were strolling down the street.  Nobody had lost their doctor.  Nobody had pulled the plug on Granny.  Nobody was being dragged away to be forced into some government-run health care plan. 

The President also referred to the polls and headlines stating that the nation is still divided on health care reform, replying, “It’s only been a week.  Can you imagine if some of these reporters were working on a farm?  You planted some seeds, and they came out the next day, and they looked, and nothing’s happened!”

He said that several major components of health reform will not be available until 2014, but that there’s plenty going into effect this year – benefits for small businesses being a good example. The President explained that Bill Milliken, a small business owner in Portland, can now qualify for tax credits that make it easier for him to provide his employees with health insurance.

Starting now, small business owners like Bill will have the security of knowing that they can qualify for a tax credit that covers up to 35 percent, over a third of what they pay for their employees’ health insurance.  And starting now -starting now, small business owners that provide health care for their workers can sit down at the end of the week, they can look at their expenses, and they can begin calculating how much money they’re going to save.  And for small business owners who don’t currently provide health insurance, they’re going to be able to factor in this new benefit when they’re deciding to do so. 

Now, it won’t solve all our problems, but it means that employees that work for Bill have a better chance of keeping their health care or getting health care.  And if they’re already getting health care, it means Bill has got some extra money.  That means he might hire that extra worker, right? 

So this health care tax credit is pro-jobs, it’s pro-business, and it starts this year.
 

President Barack Obama waves after speaking about health insurance reform at the Portland Expo Center in Portland, Maine, April 1, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

Seniors Can Rest Assured

Throughout the health care reform debate, we’ve seen opponents of reform come out in full force to misrepresent how this legislation will affect the American people. For months they have been targeting seniors---trying to deceive them into thinking that the President’s plan will reduce their guaranteed benefits. This is simply untrue. Under the new health reform law, no guaranteed Medicare benefits will be cut.  Here is the real truth:  The new health reform law will lower costs for seniors while improving the quality of care. That’s why seniors groups like AARP strongly support the new law. Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits for seniors:

• Under the new health reform law health care reform, seniors will get relief from exorbitant prescription drug costs that millions face when reach the gap in coverage known as the doughnut hole. This year, Medicare beneficiaries will get a $250 rebate if they hit this doughnut hole. And next year, they will receive a 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the donut hole.  By 2020, the prescription drug donut hole will be completely closed.  As AARP noted in its statement yesterday, “by completely closing the doughnut hole, people in Medicare Part D thankfully no longer have to make the tough decision to either pay bills or split pills.”
• Right now, seniors pay up to 20 percent of the cost of many of their preventive services. But next year, thanks to health reform, Medicare beneficiaries will receive free preventive care and annual wellness checkups at no cost.
• Reform will strengthen the financial health of Medicare through the elimination of waste and fraud, and by ending overpayments to private insurance companies. Through reform, unwarranted subsidies to private health plans will be reduced. Medicare’s guaranteed benefits will be protected.
• Seniors will see their care improve as we move to a system where providers are rewarded based on the quality of their care. With these changes, physicians and hospitals will be incentivized to reduce medical errors and coordinate care to keep people healthy.

So, while opponents of reform try to distort the facts and spread fear, seniors can rest assured that their coverage will be more comprehensive and more affordable as a result of health reform. 

Linda Douglass is with the White House Office of Health Reform