Hillarysworld

Good letter from Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand.  She is a very succinct and clear communicator and that comes through in her emails.

Dear <>,

Thank you for writing to me about health care reform.  I share your concerns with the current system and proudly voted for passage on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009, H.R. 3590, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, H.R. 4872.  President Obama has signed both of these bills into law.  With these new laws, Americans will have better access to affordable, quality health care.

Americans will no longer fear losing or being denied coverage.  In Congress, I led the charge to change the insurance companies' practice of discriminating against people based on pre-existing conditions, health status, or gender.  Additionally, lifetime limits on benefits have been removed and preventive health services and immunizations will be covered without any cost-sharing.

Preventive healthcare is one of the easiest ways to lower healthcare costs.  By catching diseases and illnesses early on, it is easier to treat before it becomes a catastrophic issue.  The new law promotes preventive health care by eliminating co-pays and deductibles for recommended preventive services, providing education and outreach on prevention, and investing in community approaches to wellness.

All of these measures will lower costs, provide choice, and ensure quality health care for Americans.  It will provide coverage for 32 million more Americans through tax credits and reduced premiums.  In addition to making health insurance more affordable, it will strengthen measures to fight fraud, waste, and abuse within Medicare and Medicaid, as well as rein in unreasonable rate increases.

During the discussion in Congress on health care reform, I advocated for New York State to receive a higher reimbursement for the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP).  The FMAP provides vital federal matching funds for state programs such as Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program. H.R. 4872 provided for New York State to receive up to $9 billion in federal Medicaid funds to serve high-need populations.

Thank you again for writing to express your concerns, and I hope that you keep in touch with my office regarding future legislation.  For more information on this and other important issues, please visit my website at http://gillibrand.senate.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.

Sincerely yours,

Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator

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They were good to take a lot of input and some of it actually went into her arguments in the well of the Senate but of course public option did not make it into the Senate version, and she really wanted it in there.

I also received my Rep's email. Above response of course is a lot more succinct.

I continue to press for tort reform and public option. Hopefully at least the tort reform gets a chance in the improvement cycles.


-- Edited by Sanders on Monday 5th of April 2010 07:41:26 PM