Texas Voice for Health Reform Weekly Update | October 1, 2009
In this issue…
Action
· CPPP Webinar on Texas and National Health Reform
· Organizing for America’s Video Challenge
· E-Mail Members of Congress
· Free “Americans Need Health Insurance Reform” signs
News & Updates
· Oops! What Senator Cornyn Forgot to Tell You
· Senate Finance Committee Rejects Public Option
· Where Are We Now?
Resources
· Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs Could Increase by More than 35 Percent in Every State by 2019
· The Rising Hidden Health Care Tax
· New Kaiser Poll Finds that Support for Health Reform Reverses from Summer Declines
· Must Reads
Calendar
· October 1st: Advancing the Quality of Healthcare in Texas
· October 6th: Webinar: Texas and National Health Reform
· October 24th: Texas Impact Advocacy Camp
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ACTION
CPPP Webinar on Texas and National Health Reform
Join CPPP’s webinar next Tuesday, October 6 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. CDT. We will cover:
· New U.S. Census reports on uninsured Texans;
· Where bills are in Congress’ process, and the latest expected timelines;
· Main components of House and Senate bills;
· How those bills would affect Texas – including explaining the HHSC estimates quoted by Senator Cornyn;
· How premium assistance for low-and-moderate income families would work;
· Which small employers would be exempt from new requirements, and what larger employers would be required to do; and
· CPPP’s top goals and concerns for the legislation —emphasis on low-income Texans.
Organizing for America’s Video Challenge
Be a champion for health reform and become a star! This week Organizing for America announced their video challenge, asking Americans to submit their case for why we need health reform. Participants will compete to have their video on national television! Visit Organizing for America to get started.
Can’t reach your members of Congress by phone? Send them an email!
Since the end of the August Congressional recess we have encouraged you to continue the pressure on the Texas Congressional Delegation by calling your members as often as possible. Some of the feedback we have received from this activity is that it is hard to get through to the Capitol switchboard, even after calling several times. Although frustrating, we know that when the phone lines are jammed it means that a lot of people are calling in to register their feelings on health reform.
Now, with the AFL-CIO’s online Working Families E-Activist Network you can send an email directly to your representatives even when their phone lines are busy. Go to http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/healthcare2009 to access a customizable letter and delivery tool that identifies your members of Congress according to your zip code.
Free “Americans Need Health Insurance Reform” signs available at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, courtesy of Families U.S.A.!
These 8 1/2 x 11 signs are perfect for displaying in the front window of your home, at your office, or for holding at health reform events to let those around you know that you want health reform! If you would like free health reform signs, send an email to quongcharles@cppp.org with your name, a daytime phone number, and the number of signs you would like. We will contact you to arrange sign pick-up. (N.B. You will have to come to our offices in Austin to pick up your signs)
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NEWS & UPDATES
Oops! What Senator Cornyn Forgot to Tell You
CPPP is analyzing the Texas HHSC estimated for future costs of Medicaid which were cited by Cornyn in opening remarks at Senate Finance mark-up of the Chairman’s reform bill last week. Notably, Cornyn claimed that Texas state budget would face $20.4 billion in increased Medicaid spending over 10 years under Chairman Baucus’ bill. What he did not say was that—even accepting that inflated figure—the same HHSC analysis also showed Texas benefiting from a net gain of $124 billion in increased federal Medicaid funds over the same 10 year period.
The HHSC numbers to which Cornyn referred also (1) include costs that would resulting from removing barriers to Medicaid enrollment for Texans who are eligible right now, (2) include costs that would result if the state were to put up its share of hospital bonus (“DSH”) payments instead of getting them from local governments; and (3) refer to a different time period than the actual Senate bill and its official CBO scoring. Cornyn characterized negatively the 1.7 million uninsured Texans who HHSC estimates would gain insurance from Medicaid expansion, and referred to the nearly 770,000 newly CHIP-eligible children who would get insurance along with their parent from a choice of private and non-profit health plans through the new insurance exchange as “enrolled in a public program.”
CPPP’s explanation of the HHSC analysis, Senator Cornyn’s statements, and the CBO and Senate Finance Committee projections for the bill will be released in the next few days at www.cppp.org.
Senate Finance Committee Rejects Public Option
While some insiders had predicted that Senators Schumer and Rockefeller would offer and then withdraw (without a vote) their amendments to add a public option to the Senate Finance Committee’s chairman’s mark health reform bill, votes were taken Tuesday which failed 13:10 and 15:8. Read more here:
· Senate Panel Rejects a ‘Public Option’ in Health Plan (New York Times)
· Senate Panel Rejects Divisive ‘Public Option’ (NPR Online)
Where Are We Now?
Here at TVHR/CPPP, we are inundated with so much incoming information every day related to the reform process and the underlying issues that it is a real challenge to keep up. Here is a quick update on the process, and on our top concerns and priorities for advocacy based on how the bills are developing this week.
The Senate Finance Committee continues to plow through their more than 500 amendments, working long hours. Senator Baucus reportedly would like to finish by the end of this week and begin a rapid-pace “merging” with the Senate HELP bill as soon as this weekend. Despite amendments improving affordability (better premium assistance and out-of-pocket protections and lower penalties for those without coverage), the Finance bill is still far more expensive for low-income families than the House bill (watch for new analysis at www.cbpp.org soon).
Meanwhile, pressures in the House as they try to merge their 3 bills threaten the high standard for affordability established in their filed bill, as they look for ways to reduce the price tag from $1.2 trillion to $900 billion. At the same time, conservative forces push to reduce the list of savings and revenues needed to ensure a revenue-neutral bill valued at $900 billion over 10 years.
Our top concerns at this moment are: affordability, affordability, affordability and children. Here are the top issues:
· Without a strong package of premium assistance and out-of-pocket caps that hold total family outlays to a reasonable percentage of family income, too many of the huge majority of Americans who are of low-to-moderate income (i.e., from 133% FPL to 400% FPL) will not benefit from “reform.” Many will not be able to afford coverage, and some could even pay penalties—while remaining uninsured—for not buying coverage if adequate premium discounts and out-of-pocket limits are not provided.
· The artificial cap of $900 billion for the package is the bare minimum needed to do a decent job of affordability. It is absolutely essential for advocates to call for keeping the bill at this level.
· The Senate Finance “free rider” employer assessment for workers who get premiums assistance must be eliminated, as it creates a strong disincentive to hire low-income workers, especially those with children, and an incentive to lay those folks off first in hard times.
· Americans above 400% of poverty need a solid slate of market reforms, hard out-of-pocket caps, and the House’s 2:1 maximum premium variation based on age (no variation for gender, occupation, or health status is allowed in either Senate of House bills). Senator Baucus’ 4:1 age ratio will make coverage unaffordable to many middle-income, middle-aged Americans.
· Advocates for comprehensive reform must solidly support preserving and expanding the list of savings and revenues needed to cover at least $900 billion. EVERY PENNY CUT FROM THE LIST OF “PAY-FORS” AND THE COST OF THE PACKAGE WILL DIRECTLY REDUCE HEALTH CARE AFFORDABILITY FOR LOW-INCOME AMERICANS.
· Children’s coverage provisions must ensure that their coverage remains just as comprehensive and affordable as it is today under Medicaid and CHIP. Enrollment policies and processes must be further streamlined to reach the millions of eligible uninsured children who are left out of coverage today. CHIP coverage should not be replaced with health insurance exchange coverage unless these standards can be assured.
By our next update, there will likely be a great deal of news on the rapidly-changing content of the House and Senate bills. STAY TUNED!
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RESOURCES
Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs Could Increase by More than 35 Percent in Every State by 2019. (available online at www.rwjf.org and www.urban.org) A new report commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and authored by the Urban Institute projects that if federal reform efforts are not enacted, the cost of failure would be substantial. In every state, the number of uninsured will increase, employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) coverage will continue to erode, spending on public programs will balloon, and out-of-pocket health care costs for individuals and families could increase by more than 35% over the next decade.
The Rising Hidden Health Care Tax is currently costing us more than $32 billion annually!
New Kaiser Poll Finds that Support for Health Reform Reverses from Summer Declines The September Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that public support for health reform ended its summer slide, reversed course and moved modestly upwards in September.
Must-Reads
· The Media’s Challenge in Health Reform (Kaiser Family Foundation)
· Maternity coverage hard to come by for self-employed (News 8 Austin)
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CALENDAR
Please email quongcharles@cppp.org if you have health reform activities for our calendar For the most up-to-date calendar events and details, visit our online calendar of events.
October
· 1st: Advancing the Quality of Healthcare in Texas
· 6th: Webinar: Texas and National Health Reform
· 24th: Texas Impact Advocacy Camp (includes health reform workshops!)
Other Online Calendars
Organizing for America Texas Events
In what media accounts are casting as a serious setback for President Barack Obama and lawmakers who back the “public option,” the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday voted against including the provision in the bill. Reports also remark on GOP unity against the provision, which they compare to the Democratic split apparent in Tuesday’s committee votes. Where I am a health insurance agent with http://www.benefitsmanager.net/SelectHealth.html . I find this frustrating somewhat. I don’t agree with the design of the “public option” where it works against a health system in place now and causes a financial burden on tax payers. But, I think we need one out there. I need the ability to get my clients a insurance policy that won’t decline them for pre-existing medical conditions. See Utah’s response to health care reform and health insurance reform. http://www.prweb.com/releases/utah_health_insurance/health_care_reform/prweb2614544.htm.
Perhaps the feds should look at the only second state case attempt for reform as a model. What about TORT reform? That honestly impacts doctor insurance costs as well as health insurance premiums by 13% See study in prior link.
Mike, take a look at the side-by-side comparisons of reform bills at KFF.org. All the bills include creation of a new health insurance exchange — “travelocity for insurance” — where current commercial insurers (including the few non-profit insurers like Kaiser Permanente) will sell policies for most or all of the individual and small group market, and possibly eventually for larger groups as well (bills differe on the large groups). Under the bills,health plans sold thru the exchange will ALL be subject to guaranteed issue, no pre-existing limits or waits,and no rating based on health status or claims history. Also, no annual or lifetime limits. IF a public option or non-profit co-op option survives as part of a final bill, it wold be just one more choice offered in the travelocity-type health insurance exchange– NOT an substitutue for the exchange itself. (I am noticing a lot of confusion about this). A lot of economists (and the CBO) assume that having a public option to choose from among the commericla options will bring down the price of coverage, and thus the cost of reform.