House Dems Tout New Health Care Reform Bill

By Ben James

Law360, New York (October 29, 2009) -- Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have pitched a revised health care reform bill that proponents say would extend coverage to 96 percent of Americans, create a health insurance exchange with a public option, and call on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., unveiled the 1,990-page bill known as the Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009, or H.R. 3962, in Washington on Thursday.

"Today, we are about to deliver on the promise of making affordable quality health care available for all Americans, laying the foundation for a brighter future for generations to come," Pelosi said.

"For Americans struggling with the cost of health care, this is an urgently needed bill," Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., added.

President Barack Obama commended Pelosi and the Democratic Caucus on Thursday.

"They forged a strong consensus that represents a historic step forward. This bill includes reforms that will finally help make quality insurance affordable. Importantly, this bill is also fully paid for and will reduce the deficit in the long term," Obama said.

Unlike the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, which was introduced in July, the new legislation would end health insurers' exemption from antitrust laws and require the secretary of health and human services to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare.

Under H.R. 3962, more businesses would be exempt from the employer mandate. Businesses with payrolls below $250,000 would have been exempt under the earlier bill, but 86 percent of businesses —those with payrolls under $500,000 — would be exempt under the newly proposed legislation, according to Pelosi.

The bill's unveiling prompted swipes from critics including Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., who blasted the legislation as a "government takeover that will limit choice competition, and innovation in health care while increasing costs and decreasing quality."

Price also decried the "job-killing employer mandate."

The new bill would create a health insurance exchange to let individuals and small employers look for health insurance. Starting in 2013, the exchange would be open to people who lack health insurance coverage and employers with 25 or fewer workers.

The exchange would include a public health insurance option meant to stimulate competition on cost and quality, and by 2015, the exchange would become available to businesses with 100 or fewer employees.

Citing the Congressional Budget Office, proponents claim the new legislation would reduce the deficit by $30 billion over the first 10 years — as opposed to the earlier proposal, which would have cut the deficit by $6 billion over the first 10 years.

H.R.3962 calls for the "wealthiest 0.3 percent of Americans" to pay a surcharge of income above $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for couples to help make health insurance affordable for the middle class, according to Pelosi.