Your Health Care Reform Questions Answered- Part 3

There are lots of rumors flying around and plenty of misinformation available regarding the health care reform proposals currently before Congress. Today's questions address some of the confusing things you may have been hearing.

Q: Will health care reform lead to a “government takeover” of health care or result in “socialized medicine,” as some claim?
A: No. The bills before Congress preserve our nation’s current employer-based private health insurance system, with public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid continuing to be available as a safety net for older and low-income Americans. The “government takeover” concern is largely based on the public health insurance option that may be available as a choice under some of the bills. It’s very important to note, however, that each person, not the government, would decide whether a private plan or a public plan is the right plan for him or her – if the public plan choice is available at all.

Q: Will health reform lead to rationing of care, as some have said?
A: No. This concern is based on provisions in the bill that authorize “comparative effectiveness research.” This is research that evaluates which drugs or other treatments work best for different medical conditions and different patients. The American Heart Association supports this research because it will provide doctors and their patients with more and better information to help them decide the best course of treatment. Ultimately, however, doctors and patients − not insurance companies or the government −will decide what treatment is best.

Q. I’ve heard claims that health care reform will deny older Americans end-of-life care. What is this about?
A. Nothing could be further from the truth. The House health reform bill includes a provision that would provide reimbursement to physicians who provide counseling to Medicare patients about the care they choose to receive if they have a living will or an advance directive. These consultations are not mandatory, occur only upon the request of the patient, and in fact are designed to make certain that the patient’s wishes come before those of insurance companies or hospitals.

Stay tuned for answers to more questions over the next few weeks. In the meantime, share your questions with us by commenting on this post!

Your Health Care Reform Questions Answered- Part 2

Thank you, Barb, for posting your questions and personal experience in response to our last post about Health Care Reform. We will address questions today regarding the affect on those who have coverage now and funding for health care reform. I would encourage others to share their questions as well, by commenting on this post.

Q: Will I be able to keep my current health insurance coverage if I want to?
A: Yes. If you currently have health insurance coverage and you like that coverage, you’ll be able to keep it. We recognize, as does President Obama and Congress, that most Americans who are currently insured receive their coverage through their employer and two-thirds of them are satisfied with that coverage.

Q: Will the health care reform bills mean that I will pay more if I have good coverage now?
A: The goal of health care reform is to make health care more affordable for individuals and families as well as for our nation. Americans pay more for our health care than any other country, in part because we are covering the uninsured in a very inefficient way after they get sick and seek care at an emergency room. Some estimate that individuals with insurance pay up to $1,100 more per year through higher premiums and taxes because of uncompensated care received in public hospitals and emergency rooms.

Q: I’ve heard that health reform will cost at least $1 trillion – is this true?
A: The $1 trillion cost that has been reported in the media is the cost over a 10-year period (an average of $100 billion a year). It is also important to note, however, that Congressional budget rules require that the health reform bills be fully paid for so that they won’t add to our national debt. The cost estimate also doesn’t take into account the private savings that would result from health reform through such provisions as improved care coordination and a greater emphasis on preventing disease. Finally, we need to consider the cost of delay and inaction. Without reform, costs are projected to continue to escalate, 16 million more Americans are projected to lose their coverage over the next decade, and millions more will have their out-of-pocket health costs rise substantially.


Stay tuned for answers to more questions over the next few weeks. In the meantime, share your questions with us by commenting on this post!

Your Health Care Reform Questions Answered!

The health care reform debate can be confusing– the current health insurance system is very complex and there are several different bills to reform it. Many people are left with questions about the different proposals and just what the bills mean for them.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be answering some of the most frequently asked questions about health care reform on this blog. We'll address basic questions about the impact of health care reform for heart and stroke patients as well as questions about specific proposals. First up...

Q: Why does the American Heart Association support health care reform?

A: We believe that the bills before Congress, while not perfect, will make care more available and affordable for the millions of individuals with heart disease and stroke who are uninsured or have inadequate coverage. The bills preserve what works in our current healthcare system; include an important and long overdue emphasis on preventing illness; and will help to improve the quality of care that everyone receives. The bills also make sure that individuals are protected from insurers that evade their obligations to pay for needed care.

Stay tuned for answers to more questions over the next few weeks. In the meantime, share your questions with us by commenting on this post!

Urging Congress to Fund the Fight Against Heart Disease and Stroke

American Heart Association President Dr. Clyde Yancy has released a statement urging Members of Congress to increase funding for heart disease and stroke research, treatment and prevention programs.

In response to recent action in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, Dr. Yancy expressed concern that the funding levels approved for the National Institutes of Health will not allow researchers to explore promising new scientific opportunities. While the Heart Association was pleased with the funding approved for CDC's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program and the WISEWOMAN Program, we were disappointed that the subcommittee provided no funding increase for HRSA’s Rural and Community Access to Emergency Devices Program.

A conference committee will work out the final funding levels since numbers differed in the House and Senate, and Dr. Yancy urged "conferees to boost funding levels to help sustain and expand critical heart disease and stroke research and prevention programs that will benefit all Americans and future generations."

Read Dr. Yancy's full statement in the AHA newsroom.

A note from AHA President- Dr. Clyde Yancy

Yesterday, one of many anticipated “AHA Chats” was convened to discuss topical issues in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke. Health Care Reform was the topic of the day. We were delighted that well over 300 AHA volunteers and advocates called in to participate. As highlighted by Nancy Brown, we are at the cusp of a potentially momentous time in the evolution of health care in this country. The President and Congress are committed to enacting some iteration of health care reform this calendar year. This puts not only Congress but also all stakeholders on an aggressive schedule to review, comment and contribute to the process.

Several topics were reviewed and are worth reiterating now; as an organization, the AHA believes that health care reform that does not result in health care that is as good as or better than the currently available care for most Americans would not represent progress. As an organization we early on staked out the six principles of health care reform that we believe should guide the shape of any program that emerges: everyone in America should have meaningful, affordable health care coverage; preventative benefits are a necessary and important part of health care coverage; all US residents should receive high quality care; health care disparities on the basis of age, gender, race/ethnicity must be eliminated; medical research is an important part of health care reform; and the healthcare workforce should reflect the changing needs of the country.

The AHA Advocacy office and our AHA health policy experts have been working tirelessly to “keep us in the loop”. Both the Senate and the House are developing versions of health care reform. Certain components of health care reform are represented in most, if not all of the pending bills and many of those components are consistent with our AHA policies. These include the elimination of pre-existing medical conditions; the ability to keep already adequate health insurance; extra assistance for low and moderate income families to acquire affordable health insurance and support for small businesses to provide health insurance to all employees. A recently proposed novel strategy creates an “Exchange’ which would represent a portfolio of insurance products from which individuals may select the plan best suited for them and their families. The Exchange would foster competition between the different plans and would create a pool that could be accessed by small and moderate businesses that might not otherwise have the leverage to negotiate coverage rates and benefits. A publicly funded option may be another component of this Exchange and though there is much debate about a ‘public option’, much of that debate needs to be held in abeyance until the details of any public option plan emerge. We anticipate that most proposals are consistently removing lifetime maximal benefits and will insure that once individuals have become sick, health insurance coverage will not disappear.

Clearly there are contentious issues in this debate. The public option being just one of those, employer mandates being another and most recently the possibility of taxing health insurance benefits has emerged. The AHA as a volunteer health organization that has a patient centric approach has not taken a position on any of these issues per se. Our approach has been to follow the process closely and to support the best solutions that achieve our 3 “A”s; affordability, accessibility and adequacy of health care.

The Q & A today was enlightening and brought a personal context to the debate. We heard stories of children with complex heart disease who are underinsured, stroke victims unable to fully participate in rehab programs and victims of heart disease and stroke who are passionate about the incorporation of prevention in any health care reform program. We heard the stories and resonate with the need. The feedback we received today serves to galvanize our efforts even more. Participating in the health care reform process is on the AHA radar screen and will remain an active focus for the AHA and the American Stroke Association in 2009 and beyond as needed.

Healthcare Reform- Share your thoughts

Right now, President Obama is hosting an online town hall on healthcare reform. Also today, AHA CEO Nancy Brown and AHA President Clyde Yancy will host a call with You're the Cure advocates to discuss AHA's role in the healthcare reform debate, and how you can have a voice in the discussion.

Please sign our petition in support of healthcare reform that makes healthcare available, affordable and adequate for everyone. We also invite you to share your story. How has the broken healthcare system impacted you or your family? How can reform help you?

Join the discussion on Facebook!
Visit our You're the Cure fanpage and become friends with Paper Doll Katie. Both pages will keep you up to date on AHA's healthcare reform efforts and give you a place to engage in the dialogue.

And, you can leave your comments here as well. We want to know what you think!

Join the National Discussion on Healthcare Reform

President Obama is inviting you to share your questions on healthcare reform. Then, during an online town hall Wednesday at 1:15 pm Eastern, he'll answer some of the most popular questions.

More information in available on the White House Blog: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/A-National-Discussion-on-Health-Care-Reform/

You can help ensure heart disease and stroke patients have a voice in the discussion!

Submit your question through YouTube, Twitter or Facebook:

• Record and post a 20-30 second video response to the President's YouTube video
• Use the hashtag #WHHCQ to ask your question via Twitter
• Visit the White House page on Facebook and ask your question there

Then, participate live in the President's online town hall Wednesday, July 1 at 1:15 pm Eastern. You can access the town hall at www.whitehouse.gov/live.

We'd love to know what questions you're asking... leave a comment here and tell us what issues you hope the President will address during his town hall.