So, when i'm not signing online petitions to save the whales or stop drilling in Alaska I also take time out of my oh-so-busy day to write to my congress people when I feel they are being especially ineffective.
This stalemate with health care reform in the U.S. is literally killing us all (no health care = sick pepole and sick people eventually = dead people) so I wrote to my congresswoman.
Lynn Woolsey is my congresswoman from Marin County and she is a saucy minx (I mean that in the best way). She has stood up and protested against the genocide in Darfur and has been a fierce critic of opponents against health care reform.
Yadda yadda yadda, this is her response:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on improving health care. I appreciate you taking the time to communicate your perspective with me on this important matter.
We must reform our health care system to provide high quality and affordable health care for everyone. At least 46 million Americans are now uninsured and by the end of the day, 14,000 more Americans will lose their coverage. In addition, health care expenses for the average family of four are projected to jump $1,800 every year. Congress has held hearings and listened to the recommendations of many stakeholders, including doctors, patients, and employers and these viewpoints have been important in shaping a health care reform bill.
While I'm an advocate of a single payer national health insurance system, I supported a robust public option that would compete with private plans to bring down the cost of health insurance and give patients the choice between a public or private plan. I'm pleased H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act contains a public option and eliminates pre-existing condition exclusions and lifetime caps. The bill also closes the Medicare Part D Doughnut Hole over time and allows the government to negotiate drug prices, which will lower prescription drug costs for seniors. In addition, this bill will ensure that any increase in health insurance premiums will be reviewed before they take place. These reforms would have far-reaching effects in the 6th Congressional District. They would:
o Improve employer-based coverage for 419,000 residents.
o Provide credits to help pay for coverage for up to 121,000 households.
o Improve Medicare for 101,000 beneficiaries, including closing the Medicare Part D Doughnut Hole for 12,800 seniors.
o Allow 21,700 small businesses to obtain affordable health care coverage and provide tax credits to help reduce health insurance costs for up to 20,400 small businesses.
o
Provide coverage for 47,000 uninsured residents.
o Protect up to 800 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.
o Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers by $81 million.
H.R. 3962 passed the House on November 7, 2009 and the Senate passed its own health care reform bill, H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, on December 24, 2009. The House and Senate are now working together to merge these bills so a single health care reform bill can be considered by both chambers of Congress. You can count on me to continue to be an outspoken voice for universal healthcare and for measures to ensure quality, accessible, affordable health care for all. Again, it's good to hear from you. The people of Marin and Sonoma counties are the most important voices I listen to as I serve in Congress.
Sincerely,
Lynn Woolsey
Member of Congress
PS - Visit my web site and sign up to receive e-mail updates on legislative issues that are important to you. The address is: http://woolsey.house.gov/
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