Texas Voice for Health Reform Weekly Update | July 2, 2009
News and Updates
We still lack official final bill language or scores for any health reform bill. The Senate Finance Committee is working on hitting the arbitrary target of $1 trillion over 10 years and expected to start mark up on July 13; the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) got a new cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today, July 2, for their bill, but the legislation does not include any Medicaid provisions and does not yet reflect the full cost of reform; the House Tri-Committee will begin mark-up of a formal bill (only a draft is available so far) July 13.
Zero Sum: The Senate Finance Committee’s goal of a $1 trillion cost ceiling results in pressure to scale back on the promise of true affordability for all Americans, which means not just premium assistance but also limits on out-of pocket costs. At this point, even if the bill is totally paid for with offsets and new revenues, the $1 trillion cap means every improvement in one area can mean a cutback in another part of health reform. This could result in a lower income cutoff for premium assistance than the 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) supported by most advocates, and/or inadequate out-of-pocket cost limits that expose low-income families to spending more than 20 percent of their pre-tax income on health care.
This week’s national health reform buzz from the D.C. consumer advocacy community included two other new areas of concern:
1. Health care for children. Current proposals do not ensure that every child would come through the proposed transition from current health coverage programs to the health reform program with coverage as comprehensive and affordable as what they have now. Another concern: the need to address the current barriers keeping eligible kids uninsured, when they could be enrolled Medicaid or CHIP.
2. Employer mandates that could discourage hiring low-income workers. The Senate Finance Committee is said to be considering an Employer “Free Rider” system that would charge employers who do not contribute to health benefits only for their workers on Medicaid or getting premiums assistance (i.e., charging nothing for higher-wage employees). The unintended result of this structure would be a clear disincentive to hire low-income workers. See http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2847.
Wal-Mart Backs Drive to Make Companies Pay for Health Coverage
The Wall Street Journal reports that Wal-Mart sent a letter to the White House expressing its support for employer mandates in health reform. The letter was also signed by Andy Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and John Podesta, chief executive of the Center for American Progress. This move is a major break from the position of most other American corporations.
Senate Finance Scales Back
The Senate Finance Committee seeks to reduce the cost of its health reform bill to approximately $1 trillion over ten years. It faces difficult choices in doing so.
Among the proposed modifications are changes in the subsidies intended to enable low- and moderate-income families and individuals to afford insurance. Some changes would make it more difficult for moderate-income households — principally those between 300 percent and 400 percent of the poverty line — to afford insurance, and thus would likely result in a number of people in that income range remaining uninsured.
Important Reading
The New York Times: Insured, but Bankrupted by Health Crises
The New Yorker: Atul Gawande: The Cost Conundrum Redux
Fork in the Road: Alternative Paths to a High Performance U.S. Health System
This Commonwealth Fund report is the first to compare three different scenarios:
• a public plan option in which health care providers would be paid at rates that fall midway between current Medicare rates and private plan rates, among other payment reforms;
• a public plan option that links payments more closely to Medicare rates; and
• no public plan, relying exclusively on private plans.
Action
Please join the call-in day listed below and to submit letters to the editor this week in support of strong health reform that makes affordable care available to every American.
National Call-in for Health Reform on July 7th & 8th
SEIU, AARP, Consumer’s Union, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Families USA and other groups will urge supporters to call Congress on July 7th and 8th and tell them to pass health care reform this year. To participate, Texas Voice for Health Reform will send out the call-in number, suggested talking points and an email that you can circulate to your contacts on July 7th. We urge you to make the call and to encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Actions on Health Reform Abound
The following are links to other health reform efforts. We encourage you to use these groups’ technology to share your ideas and demands for national health reform.
Stand Up for Health Care: A Project of Families USA
Using this tool, users can input their ZIP code to find local newspapers and write a letter to the editor with the help of sample text and talking points. The tool automatically submits the letter to the editor to user-selected newspapers.
Children’s Health Fund (CHF) Advocacy Center
CHF’s electronic tool allows users to easily edit and customize a pre-written letter on health reform and children, and then send it directly to Congressional representatives.
Declare Your Independence from Insurance Companies-Coordinated by the National Women’s Law Center
Designed to coincide with the 4th of July, Declare Your Independence from Insurance Companies is a three-part project to get consumers to advocate for health reform that meets the needs of women and children. This tool includes a YouTube tutorial to teach people how to make their own video on health reform, a sign-up to join the National Women’s Law Center July 6th call-in day, and an opportunity to sign a petition “declaring your independence” from insurance companies.
Texas Interfaith Health Reform Sermon Contest
Contestants must submit a video clip up to 10 minutes long of themselves delivering their sermon to a group—a congregation, a religious education class, a men’s or women’s gathering, etc. Your sermon must be delivered in Texas.
Texas Catholic ConferenceAction Alert: Advocate for Health Care Reform and Be a Faithful Citizen this Independence Day
Guided by the U.S. Catholic Bishop’s Framework for Comprehensive Health Reform,Texas Catholics are making a coordinated effort over the next week to educate members of Congress about the importance of health reform. To join these efforts and for more information, contact maria@TXcatholic.org
Resources
Texas Voice for Health Reform Webinar
On Monday, June 29th Texas Voice for Health Reform hosted a webinar for editorial boards on the importance of national health reform. You can view the webinar and listen to the audio online.
KFF.org Interactive Comparison Tool Now Includes House Tri-Committee, Senate HELP Bills The Kaiser Family Foundation recently updated the comparison tool on its new health reform page to include summaries of new comprehensive health reform legislation proposed by the three key House committees (the “Tri-Committee” bill) and from the Senate HELP Committee.
House Tri-Committee Draft Analysis
For those who don’t have time to read an 800 + page bill, here is a section-by-section analysis of the House’s Tri-Committee draft health reform legislation.
Say Ahhh! Children’s Health Policy Blog
A project of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, Say Ahhh! is a leading authority on children’s health and the implications of health reform for children and their families.
Consumer Choice in Health Care: How Could Reform Affect Our Choices? How Could We Make Better Choices?
The Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation co-sponsored this webcast including nationally known health policy experts discussing consumer choice in health care. Panelists addressed the following questions:
• Why is choice of health care providers important?
• How much choice do we really have now?
• How much choice do we need?
• How might health reform affect our choices?
• In some instances, do we have too much choice?
• How could health information technology help us make more intelligent choices?
Calendar
July
• Early in the month: Senate Finance and House Tri-Committee mark-ups
• 6th: Members of Congress return from recess
• 7th & 8th: National Call-in Days (see Action items)
• 12th-13th: Community Catalyst’s National Day of Action for national health reform– Washington, D.C.
• 13th: Children’s Defense Fund National Day of Social Action, Focus on Health Reform – Galveston, Texas
• 31st: House of Representatives breaks for August recess (reconvenes September 8th)
August
• 7th: Senate breaks for August recess (reconvenes September 8th)
• 8th: Representative Burgess Town Hall meetings
