state efforts to derail health reform progressive states network enzo pastore health policy...
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State Efforts to Derail
Health ReformProgressive States NetworkEnzo PastoreHealth Policy Specialistepastore@progressivestates.org212.680.3116 x205
Families USA Health Action 2010
Families USA Health Action 2010
• At least 24 States introducing bills that could negate federal reforms and empower insurance companies
• Bill modeled after ALEC's "Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act” (PA HB 2053)
• No requirement to purchase health care from the government or a government- defined health plan & includes freedom to pay out of pocket
Families USA Health Action 2010
• Serves as a messaging platform to spread misinformation about federal reform legislation
• Sponsors of this legislation say intent is to “protect individuals’ right to make their own health care choices
• In fact, it would decrease choice and hamper patients’ ability to access care and give insurers more power
Families USA Health Action 2010
Strategy for Pushing Back
• Georgia proposed constitutional amend
• Rep. Morgan branded the bill as “the wrong approach for meeting Georgians’ health reform needs and as a distraction from the real problems”
• “Real problem is that Georgia has close to 1.7 million uninsured”
Families USA Health Action 2010
• “To truly create consumer choice in health care, we need to support the federal reform bill now before the U.S. Senate”
• “Senate bill ends the practice of insurers denying coverage to people with pre- existing, allow Georgians freedom to choose their doctor and create option to purchase a government-run health plan”
Families USA Health Action 2010
• •“Instead of going after the consumer and small business-friendly Senate bill, we should go after insurance companies, who repeatedly deny health care to families & withhold payments from our family physicians”
Families USA Health Action 2010
Talking Points
• More and more families are losing their medical insurance because it's too costly for them and their employers
• This bill does nothing to help families and small businesses access quality and affordable health care
Families USA Health Action 2010
• The Congressional health reform bills provide security and stability for the insured, offer affordable options for the uninsured, strengthens the financial health of Medicare
• They also create more choices by helping tens of millions of uninsured and under-insured American families afford quality coverage
Families USA Health Action 2010
Messaging Health Reform
• Conservatives say, Government-run health care will fleece hard-working taxpayers, restrict choice, and degrade the quality of health care
• Conservative activists are playing to fears of middle and right-leaning Americans, fears shared by independents if the message is repeated often enough
Families USA Health Action 2010
Examples include:
• My family won’t get the care they need, socialism leads to scarcity, rationing
• Change will result in loss of control, deny freedom of choice
• Reform means more and higher taxes
• Mandates, government telling us what to do
• Subsidies = people getting something for nothing
Families USA Health Action 2010
To successfully address affordability and quality:
• Security and stability for those with coverage –speaks to concerns of Americans with coverage but are not happy with it, can’t afford it, or fear losing it.
• Addresses such reforms as health insurance regulations
Families USA Health Action 2010
•Affordable choices for the uninsured – speaks to the new options available in the Exchange and subsidies for those who need assistance
• Controls costs for businesses and families –speaks to long-term efforts to control health care costs, such as payment reforms so providers focus on quality and coordinated care rather than quantity
Families USA Health Action 2010
• Reform will provide peace of mind – true freedom – for America’s families, seniors, and small businesses..
Reform will provide constituents with: • Coverage you can count on that can’t be taken away• No denials for a pre-existing condition; • No spikes in premiums if you fall ill; • No lifetime or annual limits of coverage
Families USA Health Action 2010
• Help with premiums if you hit a rough patch
• Free preventive care
• Discounts on premiums for healthy behaviors
• Quality health care wherever you live
• Less red tape, less paperwork
• Lower premiums for older Americans
Families USA Health Action 2010
Resources
• Progressive States Network www.progressivestates.org
• HHSwww.healthreform.gov/healthcarestatus.html
• Kaiser Family Foundation www.kff.org
• Herndon Alliance www.herndonalliance.org/
• NCSL State Legislation Opposing Certain Health Reforms, 2009-2010
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