Here It Comes... & Here We Go Again

I guess House GOP leadership won't be waiting for Gabby Giffords to be discharged from the hospital to embark on this.

Staff for Eric Cantor informs Greg Sargent that the "Dems want to kill jobs and your grandma Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act" has been scheduled for next week. (And they are not changing the name, no matter how crass and inflammatory it is after the Giffords shooting.)

I was really hoping that after the horrific tragedy of last week, that perhaps Speaker Boehner would reconsider this. After what happened, the last thing we need is any more inflammatory crap. We all know repeal of health care reform will likely pass in the new House, but we also know repeal will likely fail in The Senate, and that Obama wouldn't sign it anyway. But even more important than internal Congressional politics, repealing health care reform would add to the budget deficit, hurt our economy, and allow the insurance industry to again abuse the system to charge us more and give us less health care.

At a Congressional town hall in Ohio this week, local constituents were asking why reform should be repealed.



And once we take a closer look at the numerous benefits of health care reform, I hope more of us here in Nevada will ask the same question.

A Stronger Health Care System for Nevada:

518,000 residents who are uninsured and 132,000 residents who have individual market insurance will gain access to affordable coverage.
311,000 residents will qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health coverage.
328,000 seniors will receive free preventive services and 58,200 seniors will have their drug costs in the Medicare Part D “donut hole” covered over time.
30,300 small businesses will be eligible for tax credits for premiums.
9,400 young adults will be eligible for quality affordable coverage through their parents

Premium Tax Credits to Expand Private Insurance Coverage in Nevada:

Reform will provide $5 billion in premium tax credits and cost-sharing tax credits for residents in Nevada from 2014 to 2019 to purchase private health insurance.

Reduced Premiums:

Health insurance reform will lower premiums in the nongroup market by 14 to 20% for the same benefits – premium savings of $1,380 to $1,970 for a family in Nevada.

Increased Medicaid Support:

The Federal government will fully fund the coverage expansion for the first three years of the policy, and continue substantial support, paying for 90% of costs after 2020, compared to Nevada’s current FMAP of 50.2%.
In total, Nevada could receive $3.6 billion more dollars in federal funds for Medicaid as a result of the expansion from 2014 to 2019.

Improved Value for Medicare Advantage:

The 228,000 seniors in Nevada who are not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan will no longer cross subsidize these private plans, saving $45 in premium costs per year.
The proposal will gradually move toward a fair payment system that rewards performance.

We are talking about real help for real Nevadans.







So why is it necessary for Congress to engage in some ridiculous pomp and circumstance over legislation that would hurt our budget, hurt our families, hurt our economy, and hurt health care consumers? So some Republican politicians can score political points with the teabaggers? How about Congress working on real legislation that might allow for real progress for our country for a change?