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From Citizen Action of New York:
As the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives prepares to vote this week on misguided legislation to strip the Affordable Care Act of critical funding, Citizen Action of New York and Health Care for America Now warned Reps. Hanna and Buerkle that a vote in favor is a vote to raise insurance premiums, raise taxes on New York small businesses, and raise Medicare costs on seniors. Mary Clark, Regional Director of Citizen Action of New York, today challenged Reps. Hanna and Buerkle to focus on creating jobs and strengthening the economy — not boosting the profits of the health insurance industry:
“The Republican-led Congress has yet to offer a single bill to create jobs, insisting instead on backwards-looking legislation to kill health reform and eliminate welcome new consumer health protections for all Americans. Before voting to defund the health care law at the behest of the big insurance companies, we implore Reps. Hanna and Buerkle to first consider the very real consequences for New York’s families, small businesses and seniors.
Defunding the law would bring an end to tax credits that are making it more affordable for small businesses across New York to provide health coverage to their employees. Our fragile economic recovery will not take root if by imposing this kind of tax hike on small businesses. [Source: Healthcare.gov]
Reversing course on the health law would also mean no more free preventive care for seniors – like mammograms, colonoscopies and free annual checkups. Defunding the law would mean seniors who fall into the infamous Medicare ‘donut hole’ coverage gap would never see a 50% discount on their brand-name prescription drug costs, leaving many to choose between buying food or the medicines they need. [Source: Healthcare.gov]
Reps. Hanna and Buerkle know full well that a vote to defund the new health care law is a vote to let big insurance companies off the hook. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, many of the worst insurance industry practices are now illegal: no more dropping people when they get sick; no more lifetime or annual caps on coverage; no more denying coverage to sick kids who dared to be born with a disability or pre-existing condition. But defunding the law would mean taking away the tools New York needs to make sure the insurance companies are playing by the new rules. New York would be deprived of the resources it needs to make sure insurance companies are allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ plans until they’re 26 years old and to hold companies accountable when they hike premiums for no other reason but to maximize profits. [Source: Healthcare.gov]
Reps. Hanna and Buerkle should turn their attention to helping the American economy create jobs to put our struggling middle-class back to work instead of creating new ways for insurance companies, banks, oil companies and other big corporations to run roughshod over them.”
