For Immediate Release
Contact: Avram Goldstein 202-587-1634
agoldstein@healthcareforamericanow.org

Affordable Care Act expected to generate up to $2 billion in rebates

Washington, DC – Today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced decisions on the last two requests from states to modify the health insurance company minimum medical loss ratios in the individual market required by the Affordable Care Act. HHS also released the forms that health insurance companies will be required to send to customers indicating whether their health plan spent at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on actual health care rather than overhead and profits. Companies that fail to meet that 80/20 standard will declare on the forms the amount of the rebate.

Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the nation's leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, released the following statement from Executive Director Ethan Rome:

“The 80/20 standard is one of the most effective consumer protections in the health care law and is already reducing premiums for individuals and small businesses. Step by step, this law is taking insurance companies out of the driver's seat and giving consumers control over their health care.

“Some states have gone out of their way to protect the greediest insurers, the ones that keep way too much premium money for profits and administration, by petitioning HHS to exempt them from the rules. HHS worked on behalf of consumers to deny or modify state requests that would have robbed consumers of $323 million in 2011 alone. Health insurers are expected to refund up to $2 billion this year as a result of the law. This is a big deal for consumers in a tough economy and another milestone in the implementation of the health care law.”

-30-

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.

For Immediate Release
Contacts: HCAN - Avram Goldstein 202-587-1634 agoldstein@healthcareforamericanow.org
Other 98% - John Sellers (Other 98%) 510-390-6416 sellers@agit-pop.com

Numerous Conflicts Make It Impossible for Thomas to Render Fair, Impartial Decision on Affordable Care Act, Signers Say

Washington, DC – More than 100,000 people have signed a petition demanding that U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas recuse himself from the upcoming health care reform law case, and two progressive organizations will submit the signatures to the court tomorrow. The petition was organized by Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the nation's leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, and The Other 98%, a grassroots network of activists fighting Big Money in politics. Signatures continue to roll in at a steady clip, the groups said.

Activists from the two organizations will deliver the petition to the high court in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Feb. 17, at 9:30 a.m. The delivery will feature powerful visuals that demonstrate the public outrage at Thomas’s lack of ethics.

Justice Thomas has significant conflicts of interest related to his wife’s employment as an agitator on behalf of conservative groups hostile to the law as well as his own involvement with groups opposed to the law, and it is impossible for him to render a fair, impartial decision, the petition said. The Supreme Court will hear extensive oral arguments on the landmark case from March 26 to 28 and will decide the case by June.

“Justice Thomas has a hugely important choice to make today,” said Other 98% co-founder John Sellers. “Is he going to step down from a case where he has a direct financial interest, or is he going to rule on it and set an extremely dangerous precedent for future rulings? Let's be clear: we're talking about a Supreme Court Justice who has received half a million dollars in unreported household income from lobbying against the bill. Thomas has been wined, dined and paid by the law firm arguing the case, and he's taken part in far-right strategy sessions organized by the key front group leading this fight.”

“If Justice Thomas fails to recuse himself, it will threaten the integrity of the entire Supreme Court,” said HCAN Executive Director Ethan Rome. “Justice Thomas personally has aligned himself with conservative zealots and extremist organizations dedicated to throwing out the law. Unbelievably, on the same day the high court took this case, he and Associate Justice Antonin Scalia were honored at a dinner sponsored by the law firm that will argue the case before the high court. Justice Thomas spoke at a secret conclave run by the billionaire Koch Brothers to raise funds for extremist front groups like Americans for Prosperity.

“Justice Thomas has so many conflicts of interest that he should recuse himself now, before the case goes any farther. Political groups determined to repeal or overturn the Affordable Care Act have been filling his family bank account for years. His wife Virginia has been a crusader in the campaign to defeat the law, and that has provided the Thomases with a healthy income. There is simply no way that Justice Thomas can render a fair decision in this important case.”

Justice Thomas failed to disclose until January 2011 that his wife received income of nearly $690,000 between 2003 and 2006 from the Heritage Foundation, a leading proponent of overturning the Affordable Care Act.

Last year 74 members of the House of Representatives took the highly unusual step of requesting that Justice Thomas remove himself from participation in deliberations on the Affordable Care Act.

“Americans want to believe we have a genuinely independent judiciary, one that doesn't bend the rules for the express benefit of huge multinational corporations, or a lobbying paycheck,” said Andrew Boyd, co-founder of The Other 98%. “That belief took a fatal blow with the Citizens United ruling. Let's hope that Justice Thomas doesn't bury that belief outright by ruling on a case where he has a clear conflict of interest.”

-30-

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.

The Other 98% is a grassroots network of concerned Americans fed up with the status quo in Washington. We've been fighting, since Tax Day 2010, against the bankers, CEOs and lobbyists who have hijacked our democracy to serve themselves at the expense of everyone else. We are everywhere. And we are hopeful. Other98.com

Washington, DC – Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the nation's leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, released the following statement from Executive Director Ethan Rome on the administration’s decision to stand firm on women’s access to no-cost contraceptives no matter where they work:

“After weeks of appalling and politically motivated attacks from Republicans, today’s decision by President Obama on the contraceptive rule is a major victory for women and families. The president stood firm and guaranteed that women will still have access to no-cost birth control no matter where they work.

“The GOP trumped up a hugely divisive fight in hopes of distracting the nation from the improving economy. We expect the Republicans and other opponents to stand down from their war on women, and we expect insurance companies to step up and behave responsibly to protect women’s access to no-cost birth control wherever they are employed. Health insurance companies have the resources to make this alternative policy work and help the entire country move on to critical issues like creating jobs. It’s time to move on from this issue.”

-30-

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.

Republican candidate expected to raise $1 million tonight

Washington, DC – Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the nation's leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, joined with Americans United for Change and staged a protest today in response to Mitt Romney’s corporate fundraiser in Washington. After the action, which featured Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, HCAN released the following statement from Executive Director Ethan Rome:

“If you’re a corporate special interest and want to buy a presidential candidate, Mitt Romney put himself up for sale tonight at a pay-to-play ‘policy roundtable.’ He’s reportedly raising $1 million for his campaign by taking huge checks from Wall Street, Big Oil and the health insurance companies. It’s no wonder Romney flip-flopped on health reform and contraception coverage and took the side of corporate interests like health insurance companies over consumers. What policies are the special interests buying tonight?”

-30-

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.

Washington, DC - Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the nation's leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, released the following statement from HCAN Executive Director Ethan Rome in response to today's introduction of S.2068, which would exclude insurance agent commissions from medical loss ratio calculations:

“This bill would rob consumers of billions of dollars in rebates and give the money to insurance companies that are already making record profits. It’s outrageous to take money from struggling families and small businesses and hand it over to Wall Street-driven health insurance companies. This bill would eviscerate one of the toughest consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act, which has already brought down premiums in some states.

“Senators who join this effort are making a clear choice to put the unbridled greed of insurance companies ahead of the needs of their constituents. They want to hide sales costs in their already skyrocketing premiums in a way that won’t even help the insurance agents who are lobbying for this bill. Instead, the money will wind up in insurance company bank accounts.

“Senators should dismiss this anti-consumer legislation and side with the public, not the health insurance industry.”

-30-

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.

Washington, DC – Here is a statement from Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now, the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, about Mitt Romney’s false claim that Republicans will protect Medicare and Social Security and never “go after” those programs:

“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. The truth is the exact 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 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 spend another $6,400 a 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.

“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. Romney supports an extremist plan that is wrong for our country. Shame on him for lying to Florida seniors as he cheers on Ryan’s plan to take away their health care and retirement security.”

-30-

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.

Part of nationwide week of protest on 2nd Anniversary of Citizens United ruling

Washington, DC – On the second anniversary of the much-despised Citizens United ruling, protesters gathered at the high court and unfurled a large banner reading “U.S. Supreme Koch” to protest the undue influence that far-right special interests and billionaires like the Koch brothers wield over the Court and U.S. politics.

Two years ago, the Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates to secretive and unlimited corporate political contributions and gave a major boost to the rapidly expanding political empire of David and Charles Koch and those of other millionaires and billionaires.

“The Kochs and their kind are engaged in a hostile corporate takeover of our nation’s political system,” said John Sellers, co-founder of The Other 98%. "We've come to the scene of the crime today – the U.S. Supreme Court – to tell the justices exactly what we think of the infamous Citizens United ruling that made that takeover possible.”

“The Supreme Court has undermined government of, by and for the actual people by defining corporations as people and money as speech,” said Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now, the largest grassroots health care advocacy organization. “The Citizens United ruling has been a disaster for the middle class, which is under constant assault in Congress and in the Supreme Court by Republicans accountable only to big corporations and the wealthy. It’s crucial that the justices be independent of corporate influences when they rule on matters like the health care case, which will forever affect health insurance consumers and 100 million people who rely on Medicare and Medicaid.”

Insurance companies and other big business interests, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have fought comprehensive health care reform for years, spending millions on lobbying, political contributions and misinformation campaigns that hurt consumers. Citizens United created a toxic political environment in which corporations can spend unlimited sums of money to oppose candidates and legislation that would benefit seniors, families and businesses.

Pictures and video clips will be posted later today at http://www.healthcareforamericanow.org and http://other98.com/citizens-united-supreme-court-action/.

The protesters represented a host of citizens groups, including The Other 98%, Health Care for America Now, Backbone Campaign, Greenpeace, Velvet Revolution and AFSCME.

-30-

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

The Other 98% is a grassroots network of concerned folks and online activists fed up with the status quo in Washington. We've been fighting, since Tax Day 2010, against the bankers, CEOs and lobbyists who have hijacked our democracy to serve themselves at the expense of everyone else. We are everywhere. And we are hopeful.

For Immediate Release – JANUARY 19, 2012
Contact: Avram Goldstein 202-587-1634
agoldstein@healthcareforamericanow.org

Washington, DC – One year ago today, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Fortunately for millions of Americans who have been receiving important health benefits and consumer protections from the ACA, the Senate rejected the GOP’s actions. Here is a statement about the Republicans’ continuing campaign to undermine America’s health security from Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now, the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization:

“The Republicans in Congress want to repeal the health care law even though they have no replacement plan, which they’ve promised from the moment they passed repeal. Instead, they want to give our health care back to the insurance companies and force every consumer to fend for themselves. Their assault on health care is the tip of the spear in the GOP’s war on the middle class. Repealing the ACA would take away health coverage from millions of young adults, force seniors to pay more for prescription drugs, revoke health insurance tax credits from small businesses, and restore insurers’ unfettered power to jack up our rates, cancel our benefits and deny coverage for those with pre-existing health conditions.

“But the Republicans in Congress won’t be satisfied by taking away the ACA’s benefits and protections, which are helping millions. They also want to end Medicare and Medicaid as we know them. The GOP’s presidential candidates have done no better, competing over who would be the first to end cost-saving benefits and consumer protections that are making a material difference in the lives of millions.They’re in a race to see who can destroy America’s seniors and middle class faster.

“It’s just plain wrong that the Republicans, their corporate sponsors and other right-wing extremists are trying to take away these benefits and rights. This is a fight about core values, about whether we want a country where people are left to fend for themselves or one where people come together through programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to provide health security and peace of mind to working families. We must stand strong to fight off the GOP’s hyper-partisan attacks on health laws that are making the country a healthier, fairer place.”

-30-

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.

Contact:
Don Owens (SSW), (202) 302-5928, dowens@socialsecurity-works.org
Will O’Neill (HCAN), (202) 454-6191 woneill@healthcareforamericanow.org

(Washington, DC)—Social Security Works (SSW) and Health Care for America NOW (HCAN) today unveiled a new guide showing that the Republican Presidential candidates agree: If they had their way, they would raise the eligibility age, cut, privatize or do away with Medicare and Medicaid, two of America’s most successful and popular programs. The guide shows that when these Republican Presidential candidates say we need to “save” Medicare and Medicaid, what they really mean is we need to end Medicare and Medicaid.

“These programs are essential to preserving and expanding America’s middle class,” said Ethan Rome, executive director of HCAN. “The GOP wants to eliminate Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as we know them as part of their assault on working families and the American dream. The Republicans only care about catering to the big corporations and the millionaires and billionaires who own them.”

“All five support cutting these programs so crucial to the wellbeing of America's children, families and seniors,” said Eric Kingson, co-director of SSW. “These views could not be more out of step with the American people! Medicare and Medicaid protect millions of Americans. Our families, communities, and indeed America’s recovering economy, cannot afford these radical cuts.”

Medicare and Medicaid have much at stake during the early Republican primaries and caucuses. The brief guide from HCAN and SSW includes past and current quotes about raising the Medicare eligibility age and privatization language from Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum.

The groups show how GOP candidates have proposed cutting funding of Medicare and Medicaid to children, families and seniors through the coded phrase of “block grants.”Below are some specific positions the Presidential candidates have taken in their race to the bottom for worst Medicare and Medicaid proposals:

###

Social Security Works is the lead group in the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, a coalition comprised of more than 320 national and state organizations representing more than 50 million Americans from many of the nation’s leading aging, labor, disability, women’s, children, consumer, civil rights and equality organizations.

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.

Why Would Wyden Want to Join Ryan in Picking the Pockets of Seniors and Calling It a 'Big Idea'?

Washington, DC – Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the nation’s leading grassroots health care advocacy organization, released the following statement from HCAN Executive Director Ethan Rome in response to yet another plan from Rep. Paul Ryan to eliminate Medicare as we know it:

“This is just another attempt to eliminate Medicare as we know it. It's a purely political proposal, and it's just another version of the Ryan Republican plan to do away with Medicare and bankrupt seniors, but this time it's got one Democrat on board. Ron Wyden’s support doesn't make it bipartisan, and it doesn't change the fact that this plan is about turning over the Medicare Trust Fund to Wall Street and the health insurance companies and replacing guaranteed benefits with vouchers.

“Every Republican plan to ‘reform’ Medicare or Medicaid is just another way to shift health costs to seniors who cannot afford to pay more. I just don't understand why Senator Wyden would want to join Paul Ryan in picking the pockets of America's seniors and calling it a big idea.”