What Everyone Should Know About Health Care Reform

Good afternoon,

Today the House of Representatives plans to vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act, landmark health reform legislation that President Obama signed into law last March.

My White House colleague Stephanie Cutter explains the harmful effect repeal would have on the nation’s economy – and your own pocketbook – in our latest White House White Board video:

President Obama is willing to work with Democrats and Republicans to improve the Affordable Care Act, but we can’t afford to go backward.  It’s fair for all of us to ask, “What does health reform mean to me?” – particularly if you already have insurance you like.

Without the health care law, we would return to the days when insurance companies could deny, limit or cap your care.  Insurance companies could continue to place lifetime limits on coverage even if you need it, increase premiums without any accountability or recourse for consumers, and deny children health care due to pre-existing conditions.

Under the law, families will pay less for their insurance premiums than they would if the law is repealed. An insurance company that tries to implement an unreasonable premium increase will be forced to publicly justify it.  And your premium dollars will go further thanks to a provision of the law that requires insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of your premium dollars on your health care, rather than executive compensation and advertising.  Health reform is about much more than protecting American consumers – it also boosts the American economy, lowering costs and creating jobs.

And since the health care law was passed last year, our economy has created over 1 million private sector jobs and has grown at an average annual rate of 2.7 percent.  There’s a lot more work to be done, but repealing the Affordable Care Act would be a step backward for our economy.

In fact, Harvard economist David Cutler estimates repeal would cost us between 250,000-400,000 jobs per year, which means millions of new jobs lost over the next decade.

As conversations about health reform bubble up in news shows and at water coolers over the coming days, I hope you’ll find this information helpful.  Everyday we’re working hard to implement this important legislation, and we will certainly keep you updated with our progress.

Sincerely,

Nancy-Ann DeParle

Director of the White House Office of Health Reform