U.S. CONGRESSMAN MIKE THOMPSON | REPRESENTING CALIFORNIA'S FIFTH DISTRICT

Health Care

As a senior member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, I am committed to ensuring the people of California’s First Congressional District have access to quality, affordable health care. To learn more about my efforts to make health care accessible in our community, please read below:

Health Care Reform

In March 2010, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act – landmark legislation that will hold insurance companies more accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee more health care choices, and enhance the quality of health care for all Americans. In California’s First District alone, the new law will improve coverage for 395,000 citizens who already have health insurance and cover 58,000 uninsured. It will allow 4,200 young adults to stay on their parent’s plans and enable 15,700 small businesses to purchase insurance through new health insurance exchanges. By expanding health coverage to those who need it most, the Affordable Care Act will also save our district $67 million in uncompensated care costs annually.

The law expands the current private health insurance system by increasing choice and spurring competition. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act will provide new state-based Insurance Exchanges where the uninsured, small business employees, and the self-employed will be able to choose between various private insurance plans. Coverage will come from plans offered by private companies – so if you like your current plan, you can keep it. The law is designed to preserve employer-based health benefits and the private insurance industry.

Many people have already experienced the Affordable Care Act’s immediate benefits, including:

• Prohibiting insurance companies from dropping your coverage when you get sick;
• Prohibiting insurers companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions;
• Allowing adults with pre-existing conditions to buy affordable coverage in state run, high risk insurance pools;
• Allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until their 26th birthday;
• Requiring new insurance plans to cover preventive services and immunizations with no co-payments; and
• Giving small businesses that provide coverage to their employees a tax credit of up to 35% of premiums in the first two years and 50% of premiums in later years.

Seniors have also seen the benefits of this law. In 2010, Medicare beneficiaries who fell into the Medicare Part D “donut hole” received a $250 rebate and will receive additional reductions on brand drugs moving forward. The legislation also requires Medicare to provide coverage of prevention and wellness benefits, an annual wellness visit, and immunizations – all without a co-payment or deductible. Better preventive care saves both money and lives.

Health care reform also addresses our nation’s shortage of health care professionals, especially in rural areas like Northern California. The Affordable Care Act makes it easier to attract providers to these areas, particularly much-needed primary care doctors and nurses. The new law also increases funding for community health centers – almost doubling the number of patients they treat over the next five years and increasing overall access to health care.

Other parts of the law will go into effect in 2014, and will make even more improvements to our health care system. The law will:

• Give more than 32 million people who are currently uninsured access to affordable coverage;
• End the hidden taxes all insured individuals currently pay toward the cost of emergency room visits by people without insurance;
• Prohibit insurers from denying coverage or setting rates based on preexisting conditions, medical conditions, genetic information, or domestic violence;
• Require all plans to provide a benefits package that meets a minimum standard, with limits on how much you will have to pay for co-pays and deductibles; and
• Help people afford care by providing tax credits for low- and middle-income families.

While the new health care law is far from perfect, it is an important first step toward making quality, affordable health care a reality for all Americans. Reforming health care has and always will be an ongoing process that will not be completed with the passage of any one bill. But by passing the Affordable Care Act into law, millions of Americans will now be able to afford to go to the doctor. And that’s what matters.

To learn more about how health care reform impacts you and your family, please visit http://www.healthcare.gov/.

Medicare Reimbursement

I support ongoing legislative efforts to correct low Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians in Sonoma County. I am also working to eliminate scheduled cuts in Medicare’s physician reimbursement rates, and replace them with a rate increase. These cuts impact doctors across the nation and preserve access to care in many communities, including those in California's First Congressional District.

Telemedicine

In previous Congresses, I have secured funding to support the implementation of a comprehensive telemedicine initiative, the North Coast Telemedicine Network. Telemedicine enhances medical care services in rural regions of our district by enabling a consulting physician at one location to observe a patient or interpret data at another location via two-way audio or video telecommunications links.

Nursing

As the husband of a nurse, I am well aware of the problems faced by the nursing community. As a member of the Congressional Nursing Caucus and co-chair of the bipartisan Rural Health Care Coalition, I am working with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to address the issues of workforce shortage and workplace conditions.