health care by jerry mcnerney
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:25 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: JerryMcNerney@mail.house.gov
To:
Sent: 08/31/2009 1:57:56 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: A message from Jerry McNerney
August 31, 2009
Dear ,
I want to thank you for contacting me with your concerns about proposed health care reforms. Health care is an important and personal issue, and I hope that my letter will answer any questions you may have.
Even though in some respects our health care system is the best in the world, most Americans agree that our system needs improvement and reform. Our health care system is the most expensive in the world, and health care costs continue to increase faster than just about any other product or service. In fact, health insurance premiums have grown at two-times the rate of inflation. This hurts our businesses, our local governments, and families that do not have insurance provided to them through their work. The growth in health care costs is simply unsustainable, and if we want our economy to recover and be strong again in the long term, then we must do something about health care.
Health care reform must be fiscally responsible, reduce costs, improve the quality of care in our country, and provide health care security for hardworking middle class families. Over the last few months I've traveled our district on a health care listening tour to meet with health care professionals, patients, and families in our area. Their input, and your input, is essential. Californians are rightfully asking what reform means for them. I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to your concerns and discuss the benefits that I believe health care reform will bring.
People who are happy with their current insurance coverage - whether it is through Medicare, an employer, or purchased individually - must be able to keep their plan and their doctor. I will not support reform efforts unless families can keep their coverage. We also need to continue to make health care more affordable for every American by harnessing competition between insurance companies, cutting wasteful spending, cracking down on fraud, eliminating common abuses in the insurance industry, and establishing a new emphasis on preventing illness before it strikes. Legislation should also place caps on annual out-of-pocket insurance expenditures so that families will not face bankruptcy in the event of a catastrophic accident or illness.
Instead of creating a new program from scratch, health reform will improve upon the best of the American health care system. Reform will reduce prices, and the leading bill in the House of Representatives will bring new transparency to the health care marketplace by ensuring the power of competition and creating a health insurance exchange.
The exchange will act as a central market for health insurance and will allow individuals and small businesses an easy way to compare insurance plans. The exchange also provides security to American families by guaranteeing that you have an easy place to turn to find a plan that will work for you. A new public insurance plan will also be sold on the exchange alongside private insurance plans. The public plan, also called the public option, is required to compete on fair terms with private insurers and will be funded through premiums - not tax revenue from the treasury. Nobody is required to purchase the public option, and I will not support any plan that requires Americans to drop or change their current coverage. Some alternative proposals do not include a public option, and details of a final bill remain under discussion.
There is a lot of information - much of which is inaccurate - swirling online and in the press about health care reform proposals. The leading bill in the House of Representatives, H.R. 3200, the America's Affordable Health Choices Act, creates the optional public plan. This proposal is uniquely American and builds on the strengths of American private enterprise and competition.
The proposed health reform is designed to help small businesses by making insurance more affordable and by assisting small business owners and the self-employed. The reform will not raise taxes on middle class families and will make Medicare more efficient and effective. The reform will ensure that decisions are made by doctors and patients, not bureaucrats. Health reform will not require federal dollars to be used to cover controversial services like abortion, and health reform will not allow illegal immigrants to enroll in taxpayer funded programs.
The discussion regarding health care is ongoing, and learning your views is imperative to the process. I will only support reforms that let people choose their plan and their doctor, that will rein in costs for families and businesses, and that build on the best traditions of the American economy and health care system. The time is now to create an improved, American health care system, and I look forward to continuing the national health care discussion. I will keep your comments in mind as we move forward together, and I encourage you to visit my website at www.mcnerney.house.gov at any time.
Sincerely,
Jerry McNerney
Member of Congress
Please do not reply to this message as the mailbox is unattended.
If you wish to contact me again, please visit my website at http://mcnerney.house.gov
Boy it sure sounds good doesnt it.
From: JerryMcNerney@mail.house.gov
To:
Sent: 08/31/2009 1:57:56 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: A message from Jerry McNerney
August 31, 2009
Dear ,
I want to thank you for contacting me with your concerns about proposed health care reforms. Health care is an important and personal issue, and I hope that my letter will answer any questions you may have.
Even though in some respects our health care system is the best in the world, most Americans agree that our system needs improvement and reform. Our health care system is the most expensive in the world, and health care costs continue to increase faster than just about any other product or service. In fact, health insurance premiums have grown at two-times the rate of inflation. This hurts our businesses, our local governments, and families that do not have insurance provided to them through their work. The growth in health care costs is simply unsustainable, and if we want our economy to recover and be strong again in the long term, then we must do something about health care.
Health care reform must be fiscally responsible, reduce costs, improve the quality of care in our country, and provide health care security for hardworking middle class families. Over the last few months I've traveled our district on a health care listening tour to meet with health care professionals, patients, and families in our area. Their input, and your input, is essential. Californians are rightfully asking what reform means for them. I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to your concerns and discuss the benefits that I believe health care reform will bring.
People who are happy with their current insurance coverage - whether it is through Medicare, an employer, or purchased individually - must be able to keep their plan and their doctor. I will not support reform efforts unless families can keep their coverage. We also need to continue to make health care more affordable for every American by harnessing competition between insurance companies, cutting wasteful spending, cracking down on fraud, eliminating common abuses in the insurance industry, and establishing a new emphasis on preventing illness before it strikes. Legislation should also place caps on annual out-of-pocket insurance expenditures so that families will not face bankruptcy in the event of a catastrophic accident or illness.
Instead of creating a new program from scratch, health reform will improve upon the best of the American health care system. Reform will reduce prices, and the leading bill in the House of Representatives will bring new transparency to the health care marketplace by ensuring the power of competition and creating a health insurance exchange.
The exchange will act as a central market for health insurance and will allow individuals and small businesses an easy way to compare insurance plans. The exchange also provides security to American families by guaranteeing that you have an easy place to turn to find a plan that will work for you. A new public insurance plan will also be sold on the exchange alongside private insurance plans. The public plan, also called the public option, is required to compete on fair terms with private insurers and will be funded through premiums - not tax revenue from the treasury. Nobody is required to purchase the public option, and I will not support any plan that requires Americans to drop or change their current coverage. Some alternative proposals do not include a public option, and details of a final bill remain under discussion.
There is a lot of information - much of which is inaccurate - swirling online and in the press about health care reform proposals. The leading bill in the House of Representatives, H.R. 3200, the America's Affordable Health Choices Act, creates the optional public plan. This proposal is uniquely American and builds on the strengths of American private enterprise and competition.
The proposed health reform is designed to help small businesses by making insurance more affordable and by assisting small business owners and the self-employed. The reform will not raise taxes on middle class families and will make Medicare more efficient and effective. The reform will ensure that decisions are made by doctors and patients, not bureaucrats. Health reform will not require federal dollars to be used to cover controversial services like abortion, and health reform will not allow illegal immigrants to enroll in taxpayer funded programs.
The discussion regarding health care is ongoing, and learning your views is imperative to the process. I will only support reforms that let people choose their plan and their doctor, that will rein in costs for families and businesses, and that build on the best traditions of the American economy and health care system. The time is now to create an improved, American health care system, and I look forward to continuing the national health care discussion. I will keep your comments in mind as we move forward together, and I encourage you to visit my website at www.mcnerney.house.gov at any time.
Sincerely,
Jerry McNerney
Member of Congress
Please do not reply to this message as the mailbox is unattended.
If you wish to contact me again, please visit my website at http://mcnerney.house.gov
Boy it sure sounds good doesnt it.
Dan, have you been looking at Marty's stuff?
