My House rep. Brad Ellsworth email on his Health Care Reform position

Thank you for expressing your views on the health care reform legislation recently approved by the House of Representatives. I appreciate your comments, and I welcome this opportunity to share my thoughts.



When I came to Congress, I pledged to work with my colleagues from both parties to change the status quo on major issues and start solving the problems Americans face. For too long, Americans had demanded action from their representatives in Washington on the issues they face every day, and for too long Congress had avoided making the hard choices necessary to address those issues. That's why our country is still dependent on foreign oil 30 years after our first energy crisis. That's also why our national debt has ballooned even in times of widespread economic growth. As you know, reforming our health care system has been at the top of that list for Congress for almost a century. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton all proposed various plans to make health care affordable and accessible for every American. But, time and again, through Democratic and Republican-led Congresses, special interests with a stake in the status quo stopped these efforts.



Meanwhile, the problem has only gotten worse for American families. Skyrocketing costs have forced many small businesses to either shift the growing cost of their insurance programs to their employees or eliminate their health plans altogether. The result: the majority of workers haven't seen any increase in their buying power in the last decade, since any additional compensation is quickly absorbed by their increasing health insurance premiums. At the same time, millions of Americans can't even hope to afford health insurance, meaning a catastrophic illness would quickly turn in to catastrophic debt. These Americans are unemployed, self-employed, or work at small businesses. Under the current system, they occasionally go to the Emergency Room?"when they can't wait any longer for care?"but those of us with insurance end up paying for most of the bill. That's one reason why annual insurance premiums for an average Hoosier family is projected to increase from $13,235 today to over $22,500 in 2019 unless we change the status quo.



This is a serious problem for families in the 8th District, but it's also a growing problem for the federal government. In fact, unless current policies are changed, the federal government spending on Medicare and Medicaid will double over the next 25 years. The growth of these two programs?"caused by the same out-of-control health sector inflation causing premium hikes for individuals and businesses?"has been identified as the central long-term challenge for our nation's budget.



Even before being elected to Congress in 2006, I had already met with hundreds of patients and providers to listen to their thoughts on reforming the health care system. As the health care reform debate began in earnest this year, I urged every stakeholder to take their seat at the table because Congress needed to hear every perspective on this issue. Since the release of the draft House health reform bill in early June, I have received over 25,000 letters, emails, and calls from constituents. At the same time, I met face to face with hundreds of constituents?"some while I was traveling around the district, some in my local offices, and some in my Washington office. Throughout that process, I heard the thoughts and concerns of patients, doctors, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes, insurance agents, and business owners?"each expressing their unique perspective on reform. Every constituent had different needs, and every constituent had a different take on how to solve the problems facing our country. That's why this was such a difficult decision for me; one that I struggled with for months.



In the end, I supported the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, because I believe it starts to fix what's broken in our current system while building on what has been proven to work. H.R. 3962 creates a national Health Insurance Exchange that will offer several broad-based insurance options to the unemployed, the uninsured, and employees of small businesses. No one gets a free ride; people will be responsible for paying some or all of their premiums. But those Americans will now have a choice of multiple insurance plans, which will have to compete for customers on both quality and price. H.R. 3962 also stops insurance companies from denying any American health insurance just because of a pre-existing condition like diabetes, cancer, or high blood pressure. The bill stops insurers from rescinding your policy once you get sick just because of a typo on your original application?"even one outside your control. Lifetime benefit caps and limitless cost sharing will also be things of the past. For too long, bad practices like these have prevented Hoosiers from accessing health care when they needed it most. Most importantly, the independent, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) analysis of H.R. 3962 shows the bill reduces the federal debt by $109 billion over just the next decade. Meanwhile, a report from the country's top CEOs estimated that the reimbursement reforms in H.R. 3962, such as value-based purchasing and accountable care organizations, could reduce the rate of future health care cost increases by 15% to 20% once they have been implemented. That means lower, sustainable monthly premiums for both individuals and businesses.



When debate on the specifics of health care reform began earlier this year, I announced my goal to ensure federal tax dollars are not used to pay for abortions and to provide Americans with pro-life options on the exchange. I worked for weeks to craft an amendment that would ensure no federal taxpayer funds could be used to pay for abortions. On the day before the House voted on H.R. 3962, I sat in my office with Congressman Bart Stupak (the co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus) and several representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as we worked to finalize a solution that ensured no taxpayer dollars funded abortions. Once we were in agreement on how to apply the Hyde Amendment protections to H.R. 3962, we all brought the amendment to a meeting with Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer. Understanding the importance of addressing this issue, the Rules Committee allowed a vote on the Stupak-Ellsworth-Pitts-Smith Amendment, which included the strongest pro-life protections possible. With the endorsement of the Catholic Bishops and the National Right to Life Committee, our amendment passed the House by a vote of 240-194, with 64 pro-life Democrats voting to support these strong protections. Getting this amendment to the floor was no easy task. It was truly a group effort among pro-life Members of Congress and organizations, and I am proud of what we accomplished. I will continue to work with my fellow members of the House Pro-Life Caucus to ensure the final bill includes these strong protections.



H.R. 3962 was not a perfect bill, but the process is far from over. That's why I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to improve the legislation passed by the House. The final bill must reduce long-term health care costs for families, businesses, and government; increase choices for consumers; improve access for the uninsured and under insured, address the unique challenges faced by rural patients and providers, and accomplish all of these things in a fiscally sustainable manner. If I think the final bill does not effectively reach those goals, I will not support it with my vote. If I think the bill will make a positive difference on these measures, I will be proud to support it.



Thanks again for taking the time to share your views with me on this important topic. If you would like to learn more about my positions on issues important to you or receive regular updates on developments in Congress, please visit my Online Office at www.ellsworth.house.gov and sign up for my e-Newsletter.

Sincerely,

Brad Ellsworth

don't want our tax dollars funding wars from paying for the Pentagon.