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Slide 1: Hello, my name is Mayra Alvarez. And I’m glad to be with you today to talk
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about the health care law, the Affordable Care Act – and what it means for you, your
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family, and your community.
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Slide 2: The first question most people have is: why did we need the health care law? The
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answer is that we had a health insurance market that worked very well for big insurance companies,
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but not so well for American families. Insurers could pick and choose who they gave
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coverage to. And premiums were skyrocketing even as insurers made record profits.
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Slide 3: That’s why Congress passed and the President signed the Affordable Care Act.
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Slide 4: Essentially, the law means four things for you and your family: It ends the worst
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insurance company abuses. It makes health insurance more affordable. It strengthens
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Medicare. And it provides better options for getting health coverage.
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Today, I’ll talk a little more about each of these areas, and make a few more key points
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Slide 5: The first way the law helps you is by putting in place some new consumer protections.
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In the past, insurance companies could take advantage of you. They could deny coverage
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to children who had asthma or were born with a heart defect.
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They could also put a lifetime cap on the amount of care they would pay for. So if you
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developed a serious condition like cancer or a rare blood disease, or you were injured
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in a car crash, your insurance could disappear when you needed it most.
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And worst of all, they could cancel your coverage when you got sick just by finding an accidental
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mistake in your paperwork. Some insurance companies even used computer programs designed
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to search the records of people with breast cancer or HIV looking for these errors.
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Slide 6: The law bans these abuses and more. As a result, 105 million Americans no longer
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have to worry about a lifetime cap on their benefits. Millions of Americans no longer
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have to fear their insurance being canceled without cause. And the parents of more than
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17 million children with pre-existing conditions no longer have to worry that their children
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will be denied coverage.
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Slide 7: The second way the law helps you is by making health insurance more affordable.
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That starts with preventive care. We know that getting preventive care like cancer screenings
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and vaccines is one of the best ways to stay healthy. But in the past, too many Americans
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went without this care because their insurer didn’t cover it or required expensive co-pays.
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When the choice was $50 for a mammogram or $50 for groceries, many women had to take
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their chances. Now, they don’t have to take that risk.
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Thanks to the health care law, a wide range of recommended preventive services are available
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for free in all new plans. In 2011 alone, 54 million Americans got at least one free
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preventive service through their private health insurance plans.
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Slide 8: The law also helps you get more value for your health care premium. Before the law,
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some private insurance companies spent almost half of your premium on overhead like marketing
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and CEO salaries, leaving as little as 60 cents of every premium dollar to spend on
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care. The health care law gets you more bang for
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your buck by creating the new 80/20 rule: in general, insurers must now spend at least
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80 percent of your premium on health care services or improving care or they have to
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Slide 9: Because of this rule, 12 million Americans got over $1 billion in rebates from
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their insurance companies in the summer of 2012. That’s an average of $151 per family.
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In addition, the health care law has put in place new rules that require insurance companies
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to publicly justify any rate increase of 10 percent or more.
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And we’re already seeing these rules pay off across the country. Since the rate review
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program took effect in 2011, health insurers have proposed fewer double-digit rate increases.
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Health premiums are going up at a slower rate. And in some areas, premiums have actually
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Slide 10: Finally, the law makes health coverage more affordable for small business owners.
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Small businesses create two out of every three jobs. But in the old system, small businesses
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paid an average of 18 percent more for the same health coverage as the big companies
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down the street. That made it hard for small businesses to attract and keep the best employees.
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The health care law gives small businesses tax credits to help them afford coverage.
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Now, fewer small businesses have to choose between hiring and health care.
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In 2011 alone, about 360,000 employers who provide health insurance for two million workers
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received a tax credit. And it’s important to note that no small business owner will
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be required to provide coverage under the law.
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Slide 11: In 2011 alone, about 360,000 employers who provide health insurance for two million
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workers received a tax credit. And it’s important to note that no small business owner
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will be required to provide coverage under the law.
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Slide 12: The third way the law helps Americans is by providing new benefits for the nearly
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50 million older Americans and Americans with disabilities who rely on Medicare each year.
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It makes many key preventive services available with no co-pay or deductible to help ensure
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that no senior has to skip a potentially life-saving cancer screening because they can’t afford
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it. Already, 32 million people with Medicare have received a free preventive benefit.
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The law provides relief to people in the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage gap – known
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as the “donut hole.” Now, those in the donut hole can get a 50% discount on their
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covered brand-name medications –discounts that have saved seniors an average of more
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than $650 each thanks to the law. And the donut hole will be closed in 2020.
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The law also provides a historic boost to efforts that crack down on Medicare fraud.
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These efforts helped return a record $5.7 billion to the Medicare trust fund in 2010
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and2011. And Medicare’s trustees say that the savings
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from improvements like reducing fraud will extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund
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Slide 13: These improvements are strengthening Medicare for seniors today and tomorrow.
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Slide 14: If you have health insurance you like, that’s what the law means for you:
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protection from insurance company abuses, more affordable insurance and a stronger Medicare.
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But many families and small business owners have coverage that doesn’t meet their needs
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or will soon be too expensive. Others would like to get coverage but can’t afford it.
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Millions are locked out of the market because of a pre-existing condition.
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The fourth key part of the law is providing Americans with better options for coverage.
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Slide 15: For years, young adults have had some of the highest rates of being uninsured.
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Most young people lost their family coverage when they graduated high school or college
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and it was often a few years before they got a job that offered good health insurance.
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That meant that if they had a car accident or an unexpected diagnosis while uninsured,
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they or their families could go broke trying to pay for the care they needed.
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Now, under the law, most young adults who can’t get coverage through their jobs can
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stay on their parents’ plans until age 26 – a change that has already helped 3.1 million
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young adults get health coverage.
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Slide 16: The law has also provided new coverage options for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
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Under the old system, no one got a worse deal than the 129 million Americans with pre-existing
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conditions. When they tried to buy coverage on their own, insurance companies could hike
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their rates, carve out needed benefits, or lock them out of the insurance market altogether.
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For people with potentially fatal conditions like cancer, this meant they often couldn’t
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afford life-saving treatments. The health care law has given Americans who’ve
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been locked out of the market a new coverage option. As a result, more than 70,000 Americans
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with serious health conditions are now getting the health insurance they need.
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Slide 17: And beginning in 2014, there will be better choices for all families and small
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business owners who buy their own coverage. Insurance companies will finally be prohibited
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from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions or charging women more just because
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they’re women. At the same time, every state will get a new
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marketplace for families and small business owners who buy their own health insurance.
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In these marketplaces, you can shop for health insurance and find a plan that fits your budget.
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You can even compare the premiums and out of pocket costs of plans in your area. And
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if you can’t afford the premiums, you’ll receive a tax credit that helps you pay for
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it. There will also be better access to Medicaid. States have significant flexibility in how
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these new marketplaces are set up. And no matter how they do it, Members of Congress
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will get their coverage in that same marketplace too.
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Slide 18: What this all means is that no matter what happens to you – if you lose your job,
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change jobs or you start a business or you retire early or you get sick – you’ll
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still have affordable options for health insurance. And there’s a couple more points to keep
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Slide 19: We all know that health insurance doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the care
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you need. In the past, you’d call up your doctor and too often you’d hear that the
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next appointment was in four months. Or you’d only see your doctor for ten minutes because
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they had to rush on to their next patient. That’s why the health care law also invests
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in training and placing thousands of new doctors and nurses in communities that need them most.
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And it creates and expands community health centers across the country.
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These investments will make it easier for you to see your doctor and spend more time
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Slide 20: In addition, the law does not add a dime to the deficit.
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According to Congress’ official independent scorekeeper, the Congressional Budget Office,
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the law is completely paid for through a wide range of reforms, from cracking down on health
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care fraud to ending wasteful subsidies to private insurance companies.
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Slide 21: So what does the law mean for you? Four key things:
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It ends the worst insurance company abuses. It makes health insurance more affordable.
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It strengthens Medicare. And it provides better options for getting health coverage.
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Slide 22: The health care law is a work in progress. But it has already made huge improvements
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that will eventually touch every American family in some way.
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To learn more about the law and any of the new benefits I mentioned, please go to healthcare.gov.
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You’ll find information and plenty of resources you can share with your friends and family.
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And to see real stories of how the health care law is already helping everyday Americans,
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go to healthcare.gov/MyCare.
