Statement by Congresswoman Melissa Bean

From Congresswoman Melissa Bean

Yesterday morning, I announced my support for the final health insurance reform legislation that will come to a vote within the next few days. After receipt and thorough review of reconciliation language and the Congressional Budget Office score, I am confident that these reforms will provide Americans with the health care security, affordability and choice they seek, while yielding an historic federal budget deficit reduction of $1.3 trillion.

You've heard a lot of distortions and misinformation about this legislation, and you've heard about process and politics, but here’s the truth about who benefits:

*32 million uninsured Americans (31,500 8th District Families) will finally have access to affordable coverage choices

*Families with insurance will have healthcare security by prohibiting health insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, dropping insurance when a family needs it most, or capping lifetime benefits.

*Taxpayers will benefit from the most significant deficit reduction in more than 10 years, cutting our federal deficit by $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years (according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office)

*Seniors will benefit from protections and extensions to the Medicare system, while reducing costs in the “doughnut hole” thus lowering the overall cost of lifesaving prescription drugs

*Small business owners and employees will be able to pool together to access lower rates and a wider choice of insurance plans.

As a fiscal conservative, it was important to me that this legislation benefit not just our physical health but our fiscal health as well. In addition to the deficit reduction cited above, many experts, including those at the Mayo Clinic, expect that the bill’s significant reforms are likely to present additional cost reductions for both government and the private sector.

There are many who will oppose this historic legislation because real change is never easy. Misinformation campaigns will continue, the opposition may get ugly, but one thing is clear: our economy can’t survive if we continue to spend almost $2.5 trillion on health care each year. I look forward to getting home and proudly telling my daughters about how Mom got to vote to make America healthier.

Please share this information with your loved ones, friends, neighbors and business associates. If we can save lives and save money, why would we wait?

Sincerely,

Melissa Bean