Health Reform Is In The House!

By: Heather Pitre, WHF Health Reform Project Coordinator

The House Health Reform Bill was unveiled yesterday, and it is generating a lot of attention. Among the key points in the bill: expanding coverage of the uninsured, reducing budget deficits over the next decade, and a version of the public option.

Supporters believe new taxes and savings from Medicare would help offset the cost (estimated to be $894 billion over the next ten years) and reduce the deficit by $104 billion.  The bill would also allow young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26.  And, would cover millions more uninsured by allowing more people to be eligible for Medicaid.

Many insurance and drug companies are less than enthusiastic about the plan. Insurance companies would have to accept anyone who applies for coverage—no more pre-existing conditions.  Drug companies would have to pay rebates on medicines for low-income seniors on Medicare or Medicaid.  “We continue to oppose the approach the House is taking,” said Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The House bill, he said, “contains a number of problematic provisions for seniors, patients and the continued development of new therapies.”

But President Barack Obama and other leaders are cheering the legislation. This is your chance to weigh-in on health reform. If you are interested in health policy and national health reform, register for our Healthiest State Campaign conference, Improving Health Through National Reform, on November 13.