Kirkpatrick Votes for Health Reform

8 November 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Ann Kirkpatrick tonight voted in favor of the health insurance reform proposal H.R. 3962, making progress on many of her long-standing legislative objectives. The bill puts into place a uniquely American health care plan that expands access to quality, affordable care while benefitting small businesses and our economic recovery. In the process, it puts an end to unfair insurance company tactics for denying coverage and protects our seniors by closing the gap in Medicare Part D – two goals the Congresswoman had committed to achieving during her campaign. The legislation passed 220-215.

Throughout her run for the House, Rep. Kirkpatrick pledged to put an end to insurance companies denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions and to eliminate the Medicare Part D “donut hole.” While the Congresswoman will be working to make improvements in the bill as the debate moves forward, H.R. 3962 does meet those standards.

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“I pledged to Arizonans that I would make insurance companies live up to their end of the bargain, and I pledged that I would make prescription drugs more affordable for our seniors. This bill will help realize those goals, and benefit the health and wellness of thousands of people in my home district,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “H.R. 3962 is not perfect, but it makes the progress I promised to deliver for our families.”

Her vote in favor of the bill has earned praise from Arizonans who are living with the obstacles of the current system every day, along with those who have long been fighting for reform.

“My six-year-old daughter was born with a life-threatening kidney condition that demands expensive treatment,” said Rain. “My husband was recently laid off from his job at the mine, and we will be unable to afford our daughter's care when our COBRA coverage expires due to her pre-existing condition. We believe that the public option and ending coverage denials because of pre-existing conditions will make it possible for us to buy reliable, affordable insurance coverage. I would like to thank Congresswoman Kirkpatrick for keeping her promise to people like us.”

“Closing the Medicare Part D donut hole is critically important to the Medicare beneficiaries in District One,” said AARP Arizona President Leonard Kirschner, whose organization is strongly supporting the bill. “AARP Arizona applauds Congresswoman Kirkpatrick for her courageous vote for reform.”

Beyond meeting her commitments, the Congresswoman has been pushing to reduce costs and improve the quality of coverage, so that Arizonans can get insurance they can count on. Instead of copying a Canadian- or European-style system to make this happen, H.R. 3962 uses the fundamental American principle of free market competition by establishing the public insurance option.

Right now, millions of Americans do not have many alternatives in what coverage they can buy, and often end up stuck with expensive premiums, high deductibles and uncertain terms from insurance providers. The public insurance option will give those who are not happy with their individual plan a choice of more affordable and more consistent insurance. It will also provide a market incentive for the insurance companies to clean up their act. These steps will ensure that reform works for those with insurance, along with expanding coverage to those without.

“The best products and best services come out of a competitive free market, because no one will purchase something that does not work if they have a better option,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “Right now, many Americans faithfully pay premiums for the insurance policy available to them, only to find it offers little security when they need it most. The public insurance option will spur creativity and higher quality care by raising the standard that providers have to meet to attract customers.”

“I have been using the same insurance for six years now, and every year my premiums go up and what they actually cover goes down,” said David Darby, a bookstore owner from Casa Grande. “This legislation will give us more choices between the private sector and the public option.”

In addition to helping folks get better coverage, health insurance reform will be key to our recovery and our economy in the long term. Spending on health care in the United States has more than doubled in 30 years from 7% of our economy to 17%. As health costs consume more of our economy, other sectors are squeezed out. Rep. Kirkpatrick has made creating jobs and getting folks back to work her first priority, and she feels strongly that addressing this issue will be another step towards economic recovery.

The current structure poses particular obstacles for our small businesses. Local business owners who want to offer insurance find that the cost and coverage in their insurance plans change so dramatically from year to year that it is impossible to budget for. Our small businesses are the engine of our economy, and they will have a leading role to play in getting our country back on track. With competition driving down insurance costs, many of them will have new opportunities and more control over their business plans.

“Doing nothing is not an option for our small businesses. Whether or not to provide coverage and what plan to use is a major decision for many Arizona business owners, and right now that choice is out of their hands,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “By controlling costs, we will expand options so that each of our entrepreneurs can make the right choice for their individual circumstances.”

“Our premiums go up at least 15 percent every year, and we have had to drop group coverage because it has just gotten too tough to pay for,” said Steve LaFleur, owner of the Prescott Import Car Service. “We have purchased individual policies – they leave us open to being denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions, but we just do not have many good options left. My employees are hard-working and loyal, and I want to be fair to them. I believe that this bill will allow me to provide quality and affordable insurance coverage to my employees.”

The bill will also make it easier for our workers to succeed. Under the current system, those who are laid off, change jobs or go back to school risk losing their coverage. The public insurance option gives those with employer-based plans an affordable option when their status changes, providing a safety net and encouraging those who want to improve their job prospects to take the opportunity.

Tonight’s vote will not mark an end to our national conversation on health insurance reform. The Senate still needs to pass a proposal of its own, and those bills will then have to be combined. A number of critical changes were made from previous proposals in recent weeks, including the incorporation of ideas from the Republican Party and suggestions from folks in the district, and the Congresswoman will be pushing to further strengthen the legislation.

“Now is the time to stand up for what is right for all Americans, not just those of us privileged enough to afford, at such great cost, decent health insurance coverage,” wrote Brian Heydorn, a Republican from Cornville, in a letter to the Congresswoman. “[There] is no excuse to refrain from the hard work it will take to achieve a bipartisan bill.”

Furthermore, with some provisions in the bill not going into effect until 2013, we will have several years to decide where our goals have been met and where adjustments need to be made. Rep. Kirkpatrick wants to make sure folks in the district can make their voices heard in Washington during this time. She is launching a nonpartisan health insurance reform advisory committee for Greater Arizona, made up of health care professionals, the business community, elected officials and community members, to meet with her quarterly and report on the progress and challenges of the reform.

“Effective health insurance reform is not about what happens in Washington – it is about what happens here in our communities. Those who are making the policy have a responsibility to seek out the folks who are actually implementing it,” said Rep. Kirkpatrick. “I have been working for months to make sure that Arizonans have a say in this conversation, and I am going to continue those efforts.”

With such a complicated and important issue, the Congresswoman wants to make sure that folks in Greater Arizona are able learn more about the impact of H.R. 3962 and fully understand her vote in favor of the bill. She has prepared a comparison of the current legislation with earlier proposals and a series of summaries with further information about the legislation and the health insurance reform debate, which are included with this release and will be posted on her website at www.kirkpatrick.house.gov.

Source: Representative Ann Kirkpatrick