AARP Applauds House for Moving Health Care Reform Forward

October 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond issued this statement following today’s introduction of the Affordable Health Care for America Act in the House of Representatives:

“Today, the House brings us one step closer to a decades-long goal of repairing America’s broken health care system. AARP commends the leadership of Speaker Pelosi and the committee chairs for making progress on an issue that has ended in failure too many times before.

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“The Affordable Health Care for America Act will strictly limit insurance companies from discriminating against older Americans because of their age, while making other critical reforms that will make insurance available to every American, regardless of gender or medical history. At the same time, this bill brings improvements to the Medicare program by closing the dreaded prescription drug doughnut hole and adding new benefits to make preventive care more affordable.

“In the coming days, AARP will carefully review this comprehensive bill to determine precisely how it will affect the health care of all older Americans. The urgency for health reform continues to grow, and we cannot afford to delay action.

“We look forward to continuing our work with members of the House and Senate to pass a health care bill this year that protects and improves Medicare and makes quality health coverage available to Americans of all ages.”

For more information on AARP’s health care reform effort, please visit http://www.aarp.org/health/articles/health_reform_get_the_facts.html.

Source: AARP