Get the Facts Straight on Health Reform
There's a lot of misinformation out there. For too long, too many hard working Americans paid the price for policies that handed free rein to insurance companies. President Obama’s health reform law gives hard working families the security they deserve. The Affordable Care Act holds insurance companies accountable, lowers health care costs, gives Americans more freedom and control in their health care choices and improves the quality of care.
Health insurance reform will use my tax dollars to fund abortions.
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Health insurance reform will use my tax dollars to fund abortions.
No. The health insurance reform legislation maintains the status quo of no federal funding for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the woman is endangered. A federal judge recently wrote "the express language of the [Affordable Care Act] does not provide for taxpayer funded abortion. That is a fact and it is clear on its face."
More than 5,000 employers and unions have been accepted into a new program that provides businesses financial assistance for providing health insurance to retirees above age 55 but not yet eligible for Medicare
Businesses will suffer under health reform
Health insurance reform lowers costs for American businesses - especially small businesses - who are struggling to remain profitable and competitive under the status quo. The independent Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the bill would lower health insurance premiums for the same insurance plan by up to 4 percent for small businesses and 3 percent for large businesses, and estimates indicate that reform could save businesses $2,000 per person in health costs.
Nearly 4 million people with Medicare who reached the prescription drug coverage gap known as the donut hole in 2010 received a $250 dollar rebate check. Through July, 2011, 1.28 million Americans have received 50 percent discount on their prescription drugs.
This bill does nothing to bring down the cost of health care.
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This bill does nothing to bring down the cost of health care.
Not true. The health policy experts and economists who have looked at this legislation have said we are pursuing every possible mechanism to reduce health care costs. The Congressional Budget Office found that health insurance reform will reduce the deficit by $210 billion in this decade and by more than $1 trillion over the following 10 years. And a family of four would save as much as $2,300 on their premiums in 2014 compared to what they would have paid without reform.
Health reform will lead to a government takeover of health care.
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Health reform will lead to a government takeover of health care.
False – one independent group even called this myth the “lie of the year.” The Affordable Care Act puts people, not health insurance companies or government, in charge of health care. The new law strengthens the existing employer-based health insurance market while making the market fair for consumers by implementing landmark consumer protections. Families and individuals that don't have access to affordable coverage can receive tax credits to help them purchase coverage in the private health insurance market. There is no government-sponsored, public, or "single payer" plan in the law.
Employers will stop offering insurance to their workers in 2014 when the law is implemented.
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Employers will stop offering insurance to their workers in 2014 when the law is implemented.
Independent analyses conducted by the RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, the Congressional Budget Office and Mercer, have found that employers will continue to offer health coverage to their workers. Economists agree that employers offer health insurance to help attract and retain the most talented employees and employers will continue to seek out top talent. Further, when health reform was enacted in Massachusetts more than five years ago, the percent of businesses offering insurance in Massachusetts increased.
The Affordable Care Act includes $250 million in grants to help states hold insurance companies accountable and put a halt to unreasonable premium increases.
The Affordable Care Act‘s individual responsibility requirement is unconstitutional.
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The Affordable Care Act‘s individual responsibility requirement is unconstitutional.
This interpretation of the law is wrong. Individuals who choose to go without health insurance are actively making an economic decision that affects all of us. When people without insurance obtain health care they cannot pay for, those with insurance and taxpayers are often left to pick up the tab – approximately $43 billion in 2008. That’s why the Affordable Care Act requires everyone who can afford it to carry some form of health insurance. 83 percent of Americans already have insurance and only those who are able to afford health insurance will be responsible for obtaining it. The individual responsibility provision also enables us to finally ban discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions. Without the individual responsibility provision, people could wait until they’re sick or injured to apply for coverage since insurance companies could no longer say no or charge more. That would lead to double digit premiums increases – up to 20% – for everyone in the individual insurance market.
