National Health Care Reform

National Health Care Reform

25 March 2010

On Tues., March 23, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the comprehensive health care reform measure that the U.S. House of Representatives passed on Sun., March 21, by a 219 – 212 vote. The Senate had previously passed the bill.

All of the Republicans in the Virginia delegation voted against the bill and were joined by two Democrats, Rep. Glenn Nye and Rep. Rick Boucher. The four remaining Virginia Democrats voted in favor.

Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed suit on Tues., March 23 in U.S. District Court immediately after President Obama signed the landmark measure into law claiming the law represents an unconstitutional overreach of federal authority.

Also on Sun., March 21, the House approved a reconciliation package, HR 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, which includes changes to the reform bill. The bill was approved with no Republican support. The U.S. Senate finalized education related ammendments and passed the bill today. The legislation now will go back to the House for consideration.

The reconciliation package provides more government help with insurance premiums for lower and middle-class families, more prescription-drug benefits for most Medicare beneficiaries and help for states with Medicaid, the state-federal health program for lower-income people. It also delays a new tax on high-end insurance policies to 2018, and increases the Medicare payroll tax for the wealthy.

The Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) weighed in with Virginia’s congressional delegation via letter in July 2009 outlining the elements of health care reform that are consistent with MSV policies, as well as a number of areas of concern. MSV has maintained ongoing contact with Virginia senators through phone calls and personal visits with them and their staffs. We will update membership on the status of this important Senate action as the process progresses.

While the final outcome of the reconciliation package remains unclear, the health care reform bill in its current form is being called historic and will extend health insurance coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans. However, it is not without flaws.

MSV shares the concerns that have been voiced by national organizations about the imperfection of this legislation. Although some elements are consistent with MSV policy, such as extension of insurance to the uninsured and increased competition in the health insurance marketplace, there are still areas in which MSV will continue to advocate for improvement such as repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula (SGR) and correction of problems with the Independent Payment Advisory Board.

In addition, MSV will continue to cultivate relationships with Virginia’s elected representatives in Congress and notify members of any activities that might require grassroots advocacy.

MSV will be closely monitoring this process and the resulting policy changes that will certainly follow in the coming months and years. Our commitment is to bringing you the information and support you need in order to navigate these changes while managing your practice and caring for your patients.

From:
Email:
To:
Email:
Subject:
Message:

Inside This Section

National Health Care Reform

Resources

AMA Resources

News & Headlines