WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Pete Stark (D-CA) today issued the following statements one year after the new health law’s Patient's Bill of Rights took effect. Thanks to these provisions, young adults can obtain coverage on their parents' insurance plans, insurance companies can no longer drop someone’s coverage when they get sick, kids cannot be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition, insurers can no longer put lifetime or annual limits on coverage and seniors are paying less for prescription drugs when they fall into the Medicare prescription drug donut hole.
Rep. Levin: “Today we are able to see the tangible results of greater access to health coverage and lower costs because of the new health care law. Nearly one million additional young adults are covered. Over one million seniors and people with disabilities are seeing discounts on their prescription drugs. Millions of seniors are finding lower premiums for Medicare Advantage programs. And millions of families are sleeping easier knowing that their children will not be kicked off their insurance because of pre-existing conditions. We will fight all Republican efforts to repeal or chip away these benefits."
Rep. Stark: "A year after key patient protections in health reform were implemented, kids can't be discriminated against for a pre-existing condition, seniors are paying less for prescriptions, young adults no longer have to go uninsured if they can't find a job or aren't in college, and Americans are getting better health care value for their premium dollar. It's an indicator of what's to come with full implementation of the law, yet Republicans are still pursuing repeal. Along with my fellow Democrats, I'll fight to ensure the law is protected and fully implemented."
Health Reform by the Numbers
1 million: The number of young adults who now have health insurance, thanks to the provision that allows young adults to stay a parent's health policy until their 26th birthday.
1.3 million: The number of seniors who hit the gap in Medicare prescription coverage who are now receiving a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs.
1.3 million: The number of seniors who have already received a free Annual Wellness Visit.
17 million: The number of children who are now protected from insurers refusing to cover them because of a pre-existing condition.
19 million: The number of seniors who have already received one or more free preventive services.
165 million: The number of Americans getting better value for their health insurance dollar. Thanks to health reform, insurance companies must spend at least 80 percent of a beneficiary's premium dollar on health care, not overhead, advertising and bonuses.
