Estimated Impact of Health Reform Bills Passed in the House and Senate on New Jersey

Click here to view a side by side comparison of the Senate and House heath care reform bills.

HCAN Update

NJ For Health Care, Horizon Watch, and HCAN Partners and Allies,

Today Senator Menendez joined 20 of his Senate colleagues (including Senator Lautenberg) and signed onto a letter asking Harry Reid to pass health care reform using reconciliation and to have a vote on the public health insurance option. Click here to read the letter.

Also this morning, President Obama released his health care reform proposal that incorporates the work the House and the Senate have done and adds additional ideas. Here are some highlights as outlined in an article by Jonathan Cohn in the New Republic:

• Affordability: The House bill offered more assistance to low-income people buying coverage through the insurance exchanges. Obama is proposing to improve the Senate's financial assistance, so that it more closely approximates the House's numbers.
• The Donut Hole: Relative to the Senate bill, the House bill offered more prescription drug relief for seniors, filling in more of the "donut hole" in Medicare Part D coverage. Obama would like the final bill to do the same as the House bill.
• Medicare Advantage Plans: The Medicare program famously pays private insurers serving beneficiaries too much money, at least in eyes of most experts. The Senate bill sought to reduce those payments, but the House bill sought to reduce them more. Obama would move the number closer to the House's.
• Consumer Protections: In general, the House bill applied consumer protections to all insurance plans, while the Senate bill left many of them exempt. Obama would like the final reform bill to use the House model.

Importantly, Obama’s plan includes better oversight and accountability to protect consumers from insurance company rate increases. Click here to read more including Obama’s full proposal.

Save the Date – HCAN Action on AHIP in DC March 9th.

Health Care Bill Clears

On Monday morning (December 20th, 2009), the Senate health care bill cleared its last big hurdle, putting it on track to pass on Thursday (Christmas Eve). In the roll call, Democrats got to 60 by combining the 58 members of their party with Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders, the two independents who caucus with the Democratic Party, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, the Republican moderates most likely to join voices with the Democrats, voted against ending the filibuster on the bill.

Unfortunately, the Senate bill is badly weakened having no public option and doesn't do enough to make insurance affordable or create any real competition for insurance companies. The House bill is much better and as the two bills get merged, we need for Congress to insist on real improvements before agreeing to vote for the final bill. We will be working with our partners meeting with Champions in the House to tell them we they need to make critical changes to the bill in conference committee.

Click on the links below for recent news coverage, including an OpEd published in the New Republic by Jacob Hacker, whom some might call the godfather of the public option and who believes the national bill is still worth fighting for.

Why I Still Believe in This Bill
December 20, 2009
By Jacob S. Hacker

Other Articles
Public Plan Perversion
You Call This a Compromise?