Health Care For America Now

Washington, DC – The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted today to repeal the portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would set up a long-term care program for millions of seniors and people of all ages with disabilities who will need help paying for the daily at-home care they require to live independently. For those who need care and can’t afford it, the existing system pushes them into nursing homes at taxpayers’ expense. The repeal effort is designed to perpetuate that system, which is financed mostly by Medicaid – even as states are struggling to maintain the Medicaid funding they already have.

Nearly one-third of Medicaid spending goes to long-term care. The ACA includes a provision called the CLASS Act that was an attempt to create a new way for people to plan for future expenses and finance the in-home assistance they will need, such as hiring a home caregiver to help with tasks of daily living without requiring families to impoverish themselves to qualify for Medicaid. The repeal effort is purely political because implementation of the program has not been scheduled.

Here is a statement from Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now, the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, on today’s action by House Republicans:

“Once again, the Republicans are punishing the American people in an attempt to hurt President Obama politically, even if that means repealing the only health reform provision that could someday help seniors and people with disabilities live independently and stay out of nursing homes. The CLASS Act may not be ready for implementation yet, but the Republicans showed that they will never help seniors live with dignity and independence. The GOP will never provide relief to America’s middle-class families struggling with the overwhelming financial challenges of caring for their aging parents. If the Republicans would put politics aside, Congress could create a financially stable and fair structure for long-term care.

“As Republicans across the country step up their efforts to cut state and federal Medicaid budgets in their permanent war against the middle class, experts agree that the nation must devise a long-term care plan. It’s simple math: while two-thirds of the population is likely to need long-term care, few seniors can independently afford the staggering private cost of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Half of retirees have less than $55,000 in assets, and nursing homes charge about $75,000 each year.

“It is irresponsible for the Republicans to pretend that the long-term care problem will just go away simply because they ignore it. It’s painfully clear that Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders are as callous as they are hyper-partisan.”

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Health Care for America Now is the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization. HCAN led the fight to win passage of health reform and to keep Congress from being steamrolled by corporate special interests.

Mitt Romney has lied day after day on the campaign trail, but yesterday he topped himself when he pledged to preserve Medicare and Social Security at an event in the Sunshine State. The truth is exactly the opposite: Mitt Romney and the Republicans want to eliminate Medicare and Social Security as we know them and hand them over to Wall Street with a reckless privatization scheme.

Romney is a staunch supporter of Congressman Paul Ryan's radical budget plan to end Medicare and Medicaid and dramatically increase health care costs for seniors struggling to make ends meet. Ryan wants to put Medicare beneficiaries at the mercy of profit-mad private health insurance companies and force seniors to fork over at least $6,400 more per year on health care while letting billionaires and corporations skip out on their taxes. Romney and the Republicans want to strip seniors of new drug benefits and preventive care provided by the Affordable Care Act.

Ryan's recent partnership with Senator Ron Wyden doesn't soften the blow any. It's the same bad plan with a twist and a lone Democratic supporter. Shame on Romney for lying to Florida seniors as he cheers on Ryan's plan to take away their health care and retirement security.

In their obsession to repeal "Obamacare," the Republican presidential candidates are committed to taking away dozens of consumer protections and benefits that are already making a huge difference in people's lives.

The Republicans' Medicare privatization plan is part of the GOP's larger attack on our country's shrinking middle class and the promise of the American Dream: that if you work hard and play by the rules you can have a good job with good wages and benefits, provide a better life for your children and retire with dignity.

As has been widely documented, Romney has an aversion to the truth and a problem keeping track of his own flip-flops. His lies about Medicare and Social Security are just the latest examples. There's only one true and consistent thing to be said about Mitt Romney: he's the ultimate candidate of the Wall Street profiteers who are so intent on making excessive amounts of money that they're happy to wreck our economy and destroy the lives of millions of America's families to get what they want.

In a letter to the Texas Department of Insurance, the Department of Health and Human Services has rejected the Lone Star state's request for an exemption from the medical loss ratio requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The ACA states that insurers must spend 80% of the premiums they collect on actual health services. States may request a waiver from the medical loss ratio rule if it would "destabilize the individual market" of that state. If insurers do not meet the requirement, they must pay the difference in rebates to their customers.

According to HHS:

[HHS has] determined that the evidence presented does not establish a reasonable likelihood that the application of an 80 percent MLR standard will destabilize Texas’ individual market. Consequently, we have determined not to adjust the MLR standard in Texas’ individual market and, thereby, ensure that consumers receive the benefit of this provision of the Affordable Care Act.

This promises to return $260 million to Texas consumers over three years. Other states have also attempted to obtain MLR waivers as part of a strategy by Republican leaders to eliminate and weaken the MLR provisions. In Florida, where HHS also recent rejected a waiver request ensuring consumer rebates in that state $145 million, Gov. Rick Scott twice tried to rip off consumers in his state on behalf of insurance companies.

The rejection of Texas's waiver request is a resounding victory for health insurance customers and a terrific example of the many consumer protections provided by the ACA.

On January 20, 2012 Health Care for America Now Executive Director Ethan Rome sat down with radio show hosts from across the country at the Families USA Health Action 2012 conference.

Listen to clips from the radio programs:

The Thom Hartman Program

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Jeff Santos on Labor Owned Radio

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The Rick Smith Show

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Washington, DC – Here is a statement about tonight’s State of the Union address from Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now, the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization:

“President Obama laid out a clear, sensible vision to restore the health of America’s economy, create jobs and address the income inequality that is weakening our nation. America needs to rally around this plan.

“But before the President even walked into Congress tonight, the Republicans were trash-talking his speech. They're too busy trying to hurt him politically instead of helping the country with real ideas and a willingness to roll up their sleeves and get things done.

“Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who took a break from his campaign to silence workers' voices on the job to give the GOP rebuttal, showed that the Republicans' priority is to gain political advantage no matter how badly that might hurt America’s families and businesses. Daniels recycled tired Republican rhetoric and bankrupt ideas to cover up the GOP's relentless assault on the middle class.

“Daniels can't hide the record. The Republicans have opposed making health care affordable, they’ve blocked every effort to create jobs, they’ve been trying to undermine the laws that hold banks accountable and they’ve rejected every step needed to revitalize the U.S. economy.

“As the Republicans pursue their toxic brand of hyper-partisan politics to help the 1 percent and the wealthiest corporations and ignore the rest of us, President Obama outlined concrete plans to give everyone a fair shot at achieving the American Dream.”

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Health Care for America Now is the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization. HCAN led the fight to win passage of health reform and to keep Congress from being steamrolled by corporate special interests.

HCAN Executive Director Ethan Rome on Free Speech TV: "We're going to expose [Koch brothers front group] Americans for Prosperity all over the country."

This post originally appeared on the Health Care Expert Blogs of the National Journal in response to the question Should President Obama Address Health Care in State of the Union? The post also appeared on The Huffington Post.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama has a compelling story to tell the country about the importance of health security to America's middle class and why we have to stop the Republican assault on Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA is an extraordinary accomplishment and is already making a huge difference in people's lives by making health care more affordable for families and businesses and protecting consumers from insurance company abuses. Along with Social Security, these bedrock programs are essential to ensuring that everyone in this country has a fair shot at achieving the American Dream.

The president has plenty of examples to make his case. Thanks to the ACA, 2.5 million young adults were able to obtain health coverage this past year. The worst practices of big insurance companies, including denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, are now against the law. Health care is becoming more affordable for small businesses and seniors on Medicare. When fully implemented the law will provide tens of millions of Americans the same range of coverage choices as members of Congress. People will have peace of mind that they will always be able to afford good coverage — even if they lose a job, start a small business or retire early. These are powerful themes the President could discuss, and polling has repeatedly shown that they are highly valued by the American people despite relentless attacks on the law by the Republicans.

The president could use the speech to remind the nation that Medicare and Medicaid are the cornerstones of our health care system and provide equal opportunity for all. We don't want a society that leaves people to fend for themselves when they fall ill. Only if everyone has affordable health care can we have a vibrant middle class to power the world's leading economy.

The stakes are huge. If the Republicans get their way and turn Medicaid into a so-called block grant, millions of seniors would be thrown out of nursing homes. Middle class families would be slammed with crushing health care costs for their parents while struggling to make ends meet, save for their own retirement and send kids to college. Children and people with disabilities will go without needed care. Huge costs will be shifted to state governments, jobs will be lost and the economy will be hurt.

The Republicans want to eliminate Medicare as we know it and send our parents and grandparents into bankruptcy. Their plan would transform guaranteed health care benefits for seniors into a voucher scheme that would send hundreds of billions of dollars directly to private insurance companies. Retirees would be forced to pay two to three times more out of their pockets to care for themselves, and it would fall to adult children and extended families to bankroll the difference - whether they can afford to or not.

Every Republican plan to 'reform' Medicare or Medicaid is just another way to shift health costs to seniors and families who cannot afford to pay more. Were the Republicans to succeed in repealing the ACA, they have nothing to replace it with except a return to the days when consumers were at the mercy of profit-hungry insurance companies.

A lot of work remains to be done, but when it comes to health care the State of the Union is strong. President Obama is fortunate to have a Health and Human Services Department that's doing a solid job implementing the ACA and protecting our health security. We must stand strong to fight the GOP's hyper-partisan attacks on the health care programs that are making America healthier and moving our great country closer to achieving its promise.

The Department of Health and Human Services has rejected the State of Florida's second attempt to be exempted from the medical loss ratio requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

In a letter to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, HHS was in agreement with a letter HCAN sent in protest of Florida's exemption earlier this week. According to HHS, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation did not demonstrate that MLR requirement would lead to decreased consumer access to brokers or insurers in the Florida market.

The rejection by HHS of Florida's exemption will put $145 million in health insurance rebates back into the pockets of Floridians. This second attempt to deny consumers rebates is a politically motivated ploy by extremist Florida Governor Rick Scott, a former health care executive who made a fortune running a company that conducted a massive fraud on Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Health Care for America Now sent a letter yesterday to the Department of Health and Human Services opposing Florida's second attempt to be exempted from the medical loss ratio requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

From the letter:

It is clear that the robust Florida individual insurance market will continue to provide options to consumers and, with the MLR in place, consumers will be able to measure and compare their plan options, contain premium costs, and get rebates of $145 million from insurers that fail to provide a good value. We oppose moving backward on consumer protections and urge HHS to reject Florida’s reconsideration request.

Click here to download a copy of this letter.