Question of the Week: Health Care
These questions are culled from phone calls, letters, faxes and e-mails sent to my Thousand Oaks, Solvang, and Washington offices. Each week I will add another question and answer.
Week ending September 11, 2009
• Question: How will H.R. 3200, the health care reform bill supported by the President, affect seniors?
→ Answer: I am very concerned about the impact that H.R. 3200 would have on Medicare beneficiaries. The Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund project that Medicare could be broke by the year 2017.
Instead of focusing on returning Medicare to solvency, the President has proposed cutting Medicare by $500 billion over 10 years. The President’s proposal includes drastic cuts to Medicare Advantage plans, which many seniors rely on for their care. In addition, the President’s plan would increase the cost of Medicare prescription drug premiums by 20 percent, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Rather than cutting Medicare to pay the cost of expanding government-run health care, I support H.R. 3400, which would extend insurance coverage to people who cannot afford premiums through cuts to discretionary non-defense spending.
In addition, H.R. 3400 would:
• Allow small businesses to form associations to purchase affordable health insurance for their employees.
• Extend the income tax deduction for health care premiums to taxpayers who do not purchase coverage through employers.
• Provide advanced refundable tax credits for $2,000 for individuals, $4,000 for couples and $5,000 for a family for taxpayers who make up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($32,490 for an individual and $66,150 for a family of four).
• Cut medical costs by limiting frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits, through caps on non-economic damages and establishing health courts to review claims.
• Establish grants for states to create high-risk insurance pools to help people with pre-existing conditions find affordable insurance.
• Allow individuals to shop for insurance across state lines if the premiums in a person’s state of residence exceed 10 percent of the national average.
• Allow employers to offer discounts for healthy habits.
For more information on health care reform, please see my Health Care key issue page.
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