Since some opponents of reform seem too obsessed with the length of the Senate health insurance reform bill to even bother looking at what's in it for American families, we thought we'd make it a little easier for them to find some key provisions they're working so hard to kill:
- On page 78 you’ll learn that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ends discrimination based on pre-existing conditions
- On page 17, it makes preventive care completely free, with no cost-sharing (This might be of particular interest to those who have chosen to seize on concerns about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations on mammograms to spread baseless myths and advance their own political agenda)
- Flipping back to page 16, you’ll find that insurance companies are prohibited from dropping your coverage or watering it down when you get sick and need it most
- Also on page 16, you might notice that it puts an end to lifetime caps on coverage
- Page 18 is where the bill extends family coverage eligibility for young Americans through the age of 26
- On page 83 it requires insurance companies to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full – that means they can’t refuse to renew your coverage just because you get sick
- Page 307 is home to tax credits for small businesses to help them afford insurance for their employees
- And folks looking to scare our senior citizens about what reform means for them might be interested to check out page 923 and learn that it provides a 50% discount on drugs for seniors in the so-called donut hole
While politicians and the media war over "the public option" and "bending the cost curve," acclaimed actress-playwright Anna Deavere Smith and her one-woman play LET ME DOWN EASY give voice to questions of life and death, sickness and healthcare.
The event also drew its share of more ideological conservatives. Bob Weinert, 56, a fencing salesman from Lansing, said he’d heard Rush Limbaugh say recently that Palin is “the most conservative candidate out there.” She represents, he said, “limited government and traditional values,” including “putting homos back in the closet.”
“And putting Christmas in the stores,” added his wife, Rexanna, who said she felt she could trust the “down-to-earth” Palin.
A bill that would have immediately frozen rates on existing credit-card balances died Wednesday in the Senate, a combination of Republican opposition and a health-issue-filled calendar.
Democrats — including Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado, a primary sponsor of the bill — took the chance to blast GOP opposition to legislation popular with voters, handing the majority party a public-relations victory if not a legislative one.
"This has been like the classic story of David versus Goliath — and I say it's time to take on Goliath and stop credit-card companies from gaming the system at the expense of American consumers," Udall said.
Last spring, Congress passed a bill that will beef up consumer protections for credit-card holders, including preventing card companies from arbitrarily raising rates. But those protections don't go into effect until February, and many consumers have complained of rate hikes as companies try to beat the deadline.
Senate Republicans put a hold on the bill, a procedural move that makes it much more difficult to pass without extended debate and at least 60 votes.
With health care reform effectively swallowing the Senate's time at least until Christmas, Democrats' failure to lift the hold Wednesday doomed the bill.
