Cleaver notes positive aspects of federal health care law

In his weekly EC from DC report, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver,D-Mo, criticizes the vote to repeal the federal health care plan and notes the positive aspects of the plan:

The U.S. House of Representatives went through the motions of repealing the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010 this week. Many have said this was a meaningless gesture, but votes like this have meaning. They convey priorities and send a message to the nation.

This week, the message was that the House’s first order of business would not be to get people back to work. It would not be a bill that would reduce the debt-- in fact quite the opposite. No, the House’s first task would be H.R. 2, formally titled (for an added bit of theater), “An Act Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law”. An unfortunate and misleading title at any time, but particularly the week following a week when people were actually killed in service to the Congress.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, families will soon be free from the constant worry that they will not be able to get health care when they need it the most. But repealing the law would strip Americans of this new freedom and take us back to the days when big insurance companies had the power to decide what care residents of Missouri could receive—allowing them to once again deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, cancel coverage when people get sick, and place limits on the amount of care people can get, even if they need it. What’s more, without the law, insurance companies could overcharge for insurance just to boost their profits, or use fine print to deny medical treatments that are covered under people’s policies.

In addition, repealing the law would add at least a trillion dollars to the deficit. We cannot afford to add to the deficit, nor do we want to pass that debt to our children and grandchildren.

At a time when Missouri residents will soon be finally free from worrying that affordable coverage will not be available to them and their families when they need it the most, repealing the Affordable Care Act would be devastating. Missouri residents, providers, small businesses and other employers would be denied critical new benefits of the law, from protections against insurance industry abuses to new coverage options and millions of dollars in support so states like Missouri can deliver quality, affordable health care options to all of its residents.

I asked the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to analyze the impact of repeal of the Affordable Care Act in the 5th Congressional District of Missouri. The analysis finds that repeal of the health reform law would have significant consequences in the district by:
Allowing insurance companies to deny coverage to 112,000 to 291,000 individuals, including 9,000 to 39,000 children, with pre-existing conditions.

Rescinding consumer protections for 369,000 individuals who have health insurance through their employer or the market for private insurance.
Eliminating health care tax credits for up to 14,300 small businesses and 171,000 families.

Increasing prescription drug costs for 9,300 seniors who hit the Part D drug “donut hole” and denying new preventive care benefits to 98,000 seniors.

Increasing the costs of early retiree coverage for up to 8,600 early retirees.

Eliminating new health care coverage options for 2,100 uninsured young adults.

Increasing the number of people without health insurance by 53,000 individuals.

Increasing the costs to hospitals of providing uncompensated care by $68 million annually.

It is impossible to say which of these things my friends on the other side of the aisle might be able to mitigate as part of their proposal to overhaul the health care system, because they have yet to propose an alternative. Rather, they voted to repeal a bill nearly a century in the making only and have yet to propose what would replace the measure that provides benefits to so many of our fellow Missourians.