After more than a year of extensive debate, President Obama signed into law March 23 an historic health reform bill, which will immediately begin to lower health care costs for American families and small businesses, expand coverage, and curb some of the worst insurance industry practices and strengthen consumer protections.
Here’s what the legislation does for you:
Health insurance reform puts American families and small business owners-not the insurance companies-in control of their own health care.
Making health insurance affordable for middle class and small businesses-one of largest tax cuts for health care in history-reducing premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
Giving millions of Americans access to affordable insurance choices just as big businesses have-through a new competitive health insurance market that keeps costs down.
Holding insurance companies accountable to keep premiums down and prevent denials of care and coverage, including for pre-existing conditions.
Improving Medicare benefits with lower prescription drug costs for those in the ‘donut hole,’ better chronic care, free preventive care, and nearly a decade more of solvency for Medicare.
Reducing the deficit by $143 billion over the next ten years, and by $1.2 trillion more over the following decade; reining in waste, fraud and abuse, paying for quality over quantity of care.
Failure to enact reform means continued double digit premium increases-some as high as 60%, arbitrary loss of coverage, and huge increases in the national deficit.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LEGISLATION
