Steep Price of Repeal for Eastern North Carolina

January 18, 2011

Steep Price of Repeal for Eastern North Carolina

This week, House Republicans will be seeking to repeal the Patients' Rights Bill and put insurance companies back in charge of health care. If successful, it will mean:

Children with pre-existing conditions can be denied coverage.

Young people up to age 26 can't stay on their parents' plans.

Pregnant women and breast and prostate cancer patients can be dropped by their insurers.

Seniors will pay more for their prescription drugs.

Federal deficit increase of $230 billion.

Small businesses pay higher taxes.

With the Affordable Care Act, families will soon be free from the constant worry that they will not be able to get health care when they need it the most. But repealing the law would strip Americans of this new freedom and take us back to the days when big insurance companies had the power to decide what care residents of North Carolina could receive-allowing them to once again deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, cancel coverage when people get sick, and place limits on the amount of care people can get, even if they need it.

What's more, without the law, insurance companies could overcharge for insurance just to boost their profits, or use fine print to deny medical treatments that are covered under people's policies.

In addition, repealing the law would add at least $1 trillion dollars to the deficit, which American cannot afford, nor do we want to pass that debt to our children and grandchildren.

Without the Affordable Care Act...

Repeal would increase drug costs for seniors. Beginning this year, the health reform law provides a 50% discount for prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries who enter the Medicare Part D "donut hole" and lose coverage for their drug expenses. The law then increases the discount to Medicare beneficiaries each year until 2020, when the donut hole is finally eliminated. There are 7,300 Medicare beneficiaries in our district who are expected to benefit from these provisions. Repeal would increase the average cost of prescription drugs for these Medicare beneficiaries by over $500 in 2011 and by over $3,000 in 2020.

Repeal would eliminate tax credits for small businesses. The health reform law provides tax credits to small businesses worth up to 35% of the cost of providing health insurance. There are up to 11,600 small businesses in the district that are eligible for this tax credit. Repeal would force these small businesses to drop coverage or bear the full costs of coverage.

Repeal would increase retiree health care costs for employers. The health reform law provides funding to encourage employers to continue to provide health insurance for their retirees. As many as 8,400 district residents who have retired but are not yet eligible for Medicare could ultimately benefit from this early retiree assistance. Repeal would increase costs for employers and jeopardize the coverage their retirees are receiving.

Repeal would increase the cost of uncompensated care born by hospitals. The health reform law benefits hospitals by covering more Americans and thereby reducing the cost of providing care to the uninsured. Repeal would undo this benefit, increasing the cost of uncompensated care by $65 million annually for hospitals in the district.

Repeal would eliminate the ban on discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions. Under the health reform law, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions and will be banned from discriminating against adults with pre-existing conditions in 2014. There are as many as 261,000 residents in our district with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, including as many as 34,000 children.

Repeal would allow insurance companies to refuse to insure these individuals if they seek coverage in the individual or small-group markets. The consequences would be particularly acute for the 19,000 to 50,000 individuals in the district who currently lack insurance coverage and who would be unable to purchase individual policies if the law is repealed.

Repeal would eliminate tax credits for buying health insurance. Starting in 2014, the health reform law gives middle class families the largest tax cut for health care in history, providing tax credits to buy coverage for families with incomes up to $88,000 for a family of four. Repeal would deny these credits to 193,000 families in our district.

Repeal would eliminate health insurance options for young adults. The health reform law allows young adults to remain on their parents' insurance policies up to age 26. In our district, 2,600 young adults have or are expected to take advantage of this benefit. Repeal would force these young adults to find other coverage or return to the ranks of the uninsured.

Thank you very much.

Very truly yours,

G. K. Butterfield

Member of Congress

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