September 25, 2013
Dear xxxxxx
Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-14
and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (P.L. 111-152)—together referred to as the health reform law. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
Through the health care reform law, thousands of Nevadans and millions of Americans have gained access to the affordable health care that they need and deserve. This reform will be implemented gradually through 2014, and many of the laws benefits are already being seen. For example, the health care law has prevented insurance companies from denying coverage for up to 17 million children with preexisting conditions, has enabled over 3 million young adults without insurance to be covered on their parents’ insurance policies, and has eliminated cost-sharing for over 54 million Americans in private insurance plans for their recommended preventive services, like mammograms and cholesterol and blood pressure screenings.
Seniors have also started seeing numerous benefits from health reform. Nationwide, 6.6 million seniors and people with disabilities have saved $7 billion on prescription drugs as a result of the health care reform law. In Nevada, 25,000 seniors received a $250 tax free rebate in 2010 when they reached the Medicare coverage gap known as the “donut hole.” Since the health reform law was enacted, Nevadans on Medicare have saved over $40.6 million on prescription drugs in the donut hole, and they can expect even more savings when the donut hole is closed in 2020.
Because of health care reform, Medicare now covers certain preventive services for seniors without charging the Part B coinsurance or deductible. These services can be extremely important for keeping seniors healthy. New Medicare enrollees receive annual wellness visit without cost sharing, while all “original Medicare” beneficiaries receive preventive services like flu shots, bone mass measurement, diabetes screenings, and prostate cancer screenings.
These and the many other accomplishments of the health care law have started us on course to put Nevadans and their families back in charge when making their health insurance decisions. You can find more information about the law at www.healthcare.gov and http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/.
I am proud of the work that Congress and President Obama have done in order to ensure that Nevadans and Americans will not have to worry about health care coverage when they need it the most. Implementation of the law is a work in progress and there are many more benefits for Nevadans to come. I am hopeful that my colleagues will work with me to make improvements to the law as it is fully implemented. I oppose efforts to repeal the law because it would put insurance companies back in charge of what care patients receive and allow them to return to the days when there were no requirements that they spend premiums on actual care. Repeal would re-open the Medicare “donut hole”, raising prescription drug prices for seniors and reduce the solvency of the program by more than a decade. Repeal would let insurance companies go back to denying coverage to sick children and would result in people with pre-existing conditions losing protection from discrimination. Furthermore, according to the Congressional Budget Office, repealing the health care law would increase the deficit by $109 billion in the next ten years alone.
I appreciate you contacting me with your concerns about the health care law. Please know that I will keep your views in mind as we continue working on this important issue.
Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. For more information about my work for Nevada, my role in the United States Senate Leadership, or to subscribe to regular e-mail updates on the issues that interest you, please visit my Web site at http://reid.senate.gov. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
My best wishes to you.
Sincerely,
HARRY REID
United States Senator
HR:BK
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
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