The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the United States House of Representatives has prepared an analysis of H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, District by District Impact.
The Committee has prepared, for each member, a district-level analysis of the impact of the legislation. This analysis includes information on the impact of the legislation on small businesses, seniors in Medicare, health care providers, and the uninsured. It also includes an estimate of the impacts of the surtax that is used to pay for the legislation.
Note: The following links are to one-page pdf files. So you don’t have to sift through a book length analysis. It is a quick read. Do yourself a favor and read the one for your Congressional District. Learn something. Be informed. Be the first on your block to know. Then you can help others learn about HR 3200, those that haven’t discovered the wealth of information via the Internet, by printing the one page and giving them a copy.
For Nevada’s Congressional District #1 – Shelley Berkley:
For Nevada’s Congressional District #2 – Dean Heller: Since I live in CD #2, let me elaborate a bit. Here is a summary of the impact. Since HR 3200 is still in Committee it hasn’t been voted on yet. When it is be sure to see how Dean Heller votes. Will he vote for you or for someone else?
America’s Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 2nd Congressional District of Nevada: up to 19,500 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 11,000 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 1,700 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $118 million in uncompensated care each year; and 141,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.
• Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance. There are up to 19,500 small businesses in the district that could qualify for these credits.
• Help for seniors with drug costs in the Part D donut hole. Each year, 11,000 seniors in the district hit the donut hole and are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50%, and ultimately eliminate the donut hole.
• Health care and financial security. There were 1,700 health care-related bankruptcies in the district in 2008, caused primarily by the health care costs not covered by insurance. The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and caps annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.
• Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. In 2008, health care providers in the district provided $118 million worth of uncompensated care, care that was provided to individuals who lacked insurance coverage and were unable to pay their bills. Under the legislation, these costs of uncompensated care would be virtually eliminated.
• Coverage of the uninsured. There are 165,000 uninsured individuals in the district, 21% of the district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationwide, 97% of all Americans will have insurance coverage when the bill takes effect. If this benchmark is reached in the district, 141,000 people who currently do not have health insurance will receive coverage.
• No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals. This surtax would affect only 5,310 households in the district. The surtax would not affect 98.6% of taxpayers in the district.
This analysis is based upon the following sources: the Gallup-Healthways Survey (data on the uninsured); the U.S. Census (data on small businesses); the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (data on the Part D donut hole, health care-related bankruptcies (based on analysis of PACER court records), and uncompensated care); and the House Committee on Ways and Means (data on the surtax).
For Nevada’s Congressional District #3 – Dina Titus:
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Nice unbiased analysis. Hahaha. There are no downsides then? It is all good? Sheesh. Give me a break.