A Promise to Keep. Senate Vote is the First Step Toward the Promise of Quality, Affordable Health Care for All

/PRNewswire/ -- Today's passage of health care reform in the U.S. Senate is one historic step toward fulfilling what will one day be a promise we will make to every person living in this country: If you are sick, we will care for you. You will be able to afford coverage and insurance companies will not run roughshod over you.

USAction Executive Director Jeff Blum said other steps will include final passage after conference committee, effective implementation in the years to come and beginning work on new federal and state policies to make further progress toward affordable and accessible health care coverage for everyone.

"Right now we are focusing on improving the bill in conference committee by making good health care affordable and by holding insurance companies accountable," Blum said. "But make no mistake: This is, by far, the farthest we have ever come as a nation toward providing quality, affordable health care for all."

As House and Senate negotiators prepare to meet, Blum said USAction is calling on legislators to make the following improvements in the final legislation:

Make good health care more affordable:
-- Require employers to contribute to the cost of employee coverage.
-- Pay for health care reform through progressive financing - i.e., a tax
on the very wealthiest Americans and not by imposing a tax on costlier
health plans with many older and female workers, and full family
coverage.
-- Make coverage more affordable in the insurance exchange to ensure that
low- and moderate-income families can afford health insurance
coverage.

Hold insurance companies accountable:
-- Create a publicly-accountable health insurance option on day one
across the United States.
-- Establish strong insurance regulations in all markets and effective
implementation of coverage through federally operated exchanges.

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AARP Disappointed by Senate Vote Against Lower Prescription Drug Prices

/PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Senate today rejected an amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that would help make prescription drugs more affordable by allowing for the safe and legal importation of lower priced drugs from abroad. The bipartisan amendment, endorsed by AARP and sponsored by Senators Dorgan, Snowe, McCain, Grassley and Stabenow, would have improved competition and helped to bring down the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs.

The Senate also rejected a second prescription drug importation amendment sponsored by Sen. Lautenberg, which would have created an unnecessary roadblock for prescription drug importation. In a move designed to block importation, the amendment prohibited importation of prescription drugs unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services can certify that it is safe to do so. Despite the fact that safety provisions are already built into the AARP-endorsed Dorgan-Snowe amendment, this version is designed to create administrative hurdles to effectively prevent importation.

** How a legislator votes on issues is only one factor in evaluating his or her legislative performance, which should also include such things as constituency services and committee work

"While we applaud Senator Specter's support for the Dorgan-Snowe importation amendment, we are disappointed that he also effectively voted to block this provision from ever taking effect," said Dick Chevrefils, AARP Pennsylvania State Director. "The Lautenberg amendment is an unnecessary roadblock that would prevent importation and maintain the status quo of skyrocketing drug prices."

"AARP is also deeply disappointed that Senator Casey voted today for continuing the status quo and against lower prescription drug prices for his constituents," said Chevrefils. "With brand name drug prices rising at alarming rates, we hope he will further review the negative impact on the people of Pennsylvania and reconsider his position."

Making prescription drugs more affordable has long been one of AARP's top priorities. The Dorgan-Snowe-McCain-Grassley-Stabenow importation amendment would have been a first step toward lowering the cost of medications in this country. AARP will continue to fight for this amendment and against the unnecessary roadblocks that could prevent its implementation.

AARP notified the 111th Congress that it was tracking roll call votes on key legislation important to its nearly 40 million members and reporting the outcomes of these votes back to its members and all older Americans. "When Americans understand the issues and where their lawmakers stand, they can make smart decisions," said Chevrefils. "AARP will be there to give our members, as well as all Americans, the most accurate information we can."

AARP members and all older Americans can see how their representatives voted on health care reform by going to www.aarp.org/governmentwatch. AARP's Government Watch is a one-stop online portal that will be tracking and publicizing every designated key vote on issues facing Americans age 50-plus. A "Key Vote Summary" highlighting votes on these issues will be published at the end of each congressional session.

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Americans Fear the Consequences of a New Government-Run "Public" Health Plan

Democrats who support a government takeover of health care are citing the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, which they claim shows support for a government-run system. Yet that very same poll shows widespread concern about potential consequences of a government-run health plan on the relationship Americans have with their doctor and the quality of care they receive – facts which have been reflected in other polls. For example, the New York Times/CBS News poll shows that:

63 percent were concerned that their own health care would get worse under a government-run system of health care;
68 percent believed a government-run system would limit their access to treatments and quality care; and
53 percent were concerned they would have to give up their own doctor under a government-run system.
What’s clear is that Americans overwhelmingly oppose the consequences of a government-run health system. They want access to their doctor, they want access to the quality care they are accustomed to, and they want access to the medical treatments they need when they need it rather than being subject to the whims of a government bureaucrat that makes health care decisions at the expense of patients and doctors. All would be jeopardized under a government-run scheme being proposed by congressional Democrats.

Here are the Top 10 facts about the House Democrats’ health care proposal and the consequences it will have for the American people and their health care:

Costs Middle-Class Families and Small Businesses Billions
Forces Tens of Millions Out of their Current Health Care Coverage
Destroys Millions of American Jobs
Puts Bureaucrats in Charge of Key Medical Decisions
Costs Future Generations Money They Don’t Have
Cuts Seniors’ Key Medicare Benefits and Limits Choices
Places a New Mandate on Individuals
Raises Taxes on Families, Small Businesses
A Missed Opportunity to Reduce Health Care Costs
Harms Small Businesses, Costs Jobs

Congressional Democrats can continue to ignore these consequences if they choose, but the facts are not on their side. The House Democrats’ plan could force more than 100 million Americans off of their current health care plan and onto the government rolls, according to a Lewin Group study published earlier this year. A Congressional Budget Office report said a similar plan authored by Senate Democrats that would force at least 23 million Americans off of their current plans. And according to the Associated Press, even the White House admits that the President’s promises about allowing the American people to keep their health care shouldn’t be taken literally.

House Republicans have a better solution: a plan that ensures all Americans who like their health care coverage can actually keep it. The plan outlined by the House GOP Health Care Reform Solutions Group, led by Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), is designed to:

Make quality health care coverage affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions.
Protect Americans from being forced into a new government-run health care plan that would eliminate the health care coverage that more than 100 million Americans currently receive through their job.
Let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it, and give all Americans the freedom to choose the health plan that best meets their needs.
Ensure that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats.
Improve Americans’ lives through effective prevention, wellness, and disease management programs, while developing new treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases.

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