Vital Health Care Reforms Being Considered by Congress

Contact Your Representative, and Tell Them to Support HR 3200

Next month, Barack Obama's proposed health care overhaul is going before Congress. Right now, the House and Senate each have their own healthcare reform bill. Though there are difference between the two, both have a strong public insurance option -- the single most important factor in covering the uninsured, lowering prices, and encouraging competition. Of the two proposals, House bill 3200 meets all the principles set forth by Health Care for America Now!, the nation's leading reform group. Among the most important highlights of that bill:

• No more deductibles or co-pays for preventive care. (2010 for Medicare; 2013 all)
• No higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions, gender, or occupation.
• Annual cap on out-of-pocket expenses ($5,000 individual; $10,000 family).
• Hearing, oral, and vision care included for all children.
• No more retroactive denials of coverage by insurers (rescissions).
• No more coverage denials for pre-existing conditions.
• No more lifetime limits on how much insurance companies will spend on you health benefits.

To better understand how this bill will affect your community, you can also read a district-by-district impact study conducted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

This reform is vital. Please call or email your member of Congress and tell them to support HR 3200.

Here in Michigan, we're lucky to have some real leaders on health care reform. They've worked hard, and HR 3200 has passed three committees in the House, and is scheduled to come before the House in September.

But some in Congress are dragging their feet -- including a few here in Michigan. That's why it's so important that you contact your Representative and ask them to support a public insurance option.

Health care reform will not happen unless we work together to force the change.