National Coalition on Health Care Statement on House Passage of Health Care Reform as Embodied in the Reconciliation Act of 2010

 

March 21, 2010
                                                       
Contact: Amelia West
(202) 638-7151

Spokesman:    
Ralph G. Neas, President and C.E.O.
After hours call: (301) 919-3242
 

National Coalition on Health Care Statement on House Passage of Health Care Reform as Embodied in the Reconciliation Act of 2010, HR 4872, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HR 3590 
 

The Coalition and the NCHC Action Fund applaud the extraordinary and visionary leadership that has produced what is clearly among the top domestic legislative achievements of the past century. The President and those members of the U.S. House of Representatives who made history tonight by voting in favor of health care reform have brought us to the brink of a long overdue victory for America's families, workers and businesses large and small. Upon enactment, the nation will take a giant step toward achieving the Coalition's five principles for a reformed health care system:
 

• Health Care Coverage for All -- the legislation adds coverage for 32 million more Americans, ending insurance abuses like pre-existing condition exclusions and rescissions and also allows young adults to retain coverage under their parents' policies;
 

• Cost Management -- the bill has an array of cost containment strategies including, fraud prevention and detection measures, new health insurance exchanges where quality plans including new multi-state insurance plans will compete for consumers' dollars and produce greater market transparency, requirements that hospitals post the actual price of services and shift away from today's inefficient fee-for-service system;
 

• Improvement of Health Care Quality and Safety -- the bill provides new incentives for lower hospital readmission rates, stronger penalties for high rates of hospital-acquired infection and develops quality and performance measures for providers and hospitals, supports unbiased research into which treatments work best through a new Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, creates a Wellness Trust to assess and invest in both clinical and community-based prevention, eliminates co-pays and deductibles for preventive care, provides that  physicians' quality performance measures be published on the Internet, and establishes strong pilot programs to reward effective care coordination and empowers the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand effective pilots;
 

 • Equitable Financing -- combined provisions of the bill will begin to deliver some relief from skyrocketing health care costs with over a trillion dollars in federal deficit savings projected over the next two decades, and for businesses, reduce annual per-employee health care costs by an estimated $3,000, and for those in the individual market, reduce average premiums by 14% to 20%;

• Simplified Administration -- supported by provisions to eliminate unneeded administrative costs, simplify and standardize inefficient and duplicative insurance forms, and to create additional incentives for the adoption of health information technology.
 

Tonight's votes lay the foundation for taking the steps necessary to meet the challenges of securing sustainable, quality, affordable coverage for all America and systemic, system-wide reforms. Therefore, upon enactment we look forward to helping implement these reforms while working with Congress to ensure greater quality, safety, and the cost containment necessary for sustainability and availability of affordable care for all.

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