Consumer Reports has just released a new straightforward, easy-to-understand FREE guide to help folks understand how the changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will affect you and your family, now and in the future.

The guide is available in English and will be soon available in Spanish.

Consumer Reports  - PDF  - Health Reform: Seven Things You Need to Know Now

Free bulk copies (that look like a magazine) of the new straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to the new law are available now.  For Consumer Reports to send out free copies they need you to commit to distributing at least 25 copies.  Fill out this form and they will get your order started - again available in English and very soon to be in Spanish.

Questions?  Send an e-mail to guide@consumersunion.com

Insurers Pursuing Billions in Medicare Profits Make Big Contributions to Candidates Backing Ryan Budget

Public Campaign Action Fund and Health Care for America Now

October 10, 2012

During the height of debate over the Affordable Care Act, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) publicly appeared to be negotiating with Democrats and the Obama administration while its members were secretly funneling more than $100 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to oppose the legislation.

When Republicans won back the House Majority in 2010, insurance interests again took center stage when the House twice passed Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget plan that would turn Medicare into a voucher program that would deliver billions in new profits to health insurers while devastating a critically important program for America's seniors.

A new analysis by Public Campaign Action Fund (PCAF) and Health Care for America Now (HCAN) shows that the same insurance interests that would benefit from a voucher program are filling the campaign coffers of Medicare privatization supporters, raising questions about whether these members of Congress are really working for their constituents or big insurance donors.

How Insurance Companies Benefit from the Ryan Plan

A voucher program designed by Ryan and embraced by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would be a boon to insurance interests by moving millions of seniors who join Medicare after 2022 into private plans partially funded by government vouchers.

Vouchercare would give insurers vast flows of new revenue and increase health insurance company profits by $16 billion to $26 billion in 2030. Here's how Harvard economist David Cutler described it:

According to the CBO, people aged 65 in 2023 (the first year of the voucher) are expected to account for 4 percent of the $1.23 trillion in Medicare spending anticipated in that year ... An estimated $31 billion in Medicare funds would be newly available to private plans in 2023. The GAO has estimated that insurers earn profits of between 4.1 percent and 6.6 percent on revenue. Thus, the newly available private insurer revenues would generate private profits of $1.3 [billion]-$2.1 billion in 2023. These profits would quickly mount. By 2030, new profits for private insurers would be as high as $16 [billion] to $26 billion.

The year 2030 may sound far off, but health insurance companies and Wall Street investors would see an immediate payoff if backers of Medicare privatization were to win big in November. A Romney-Ryan victory coupled with a Republican takeover of the Senate would boost health insurance company stock prices by 10 to 20 percent, according to Citigroup analyst Carl McDonald. Based on share prices on Aug. 18, the day McDonald published his report, a GOP sweep in Washington would quickly jack up the total market value of the 10 largest health insurers by $12 billion to $25 billion. Here's how McDonald sees it:

We've argued that in the scenario where Mitt Romney wins the presidential election and Republicans take the Senate, the managed care group rises 10-20%, as the market factors in the likelihood that health reform implementation is delayed, scaled back, or that pieces are removed entirely, pushing up earnings forecasts in 2014 and beyond. We think the argument for how much the stocks could move is strengthened by the selection of Paul Ryan as the Republican vice president candidate, given Ryan's widely publicized proposal to essentially privatize the federal Medicare program. Ryan has talked about changing the reimbursement methodology for Medicare Advantage plans, which creates some uncertainty, but that negative would be more than offset by a major increase in Medicare revenue if the bulk of the seniors in the country were ultimately moved into a private plan.

Industry Influence

Rep. Paul Ryan's insurance industry ties are well known. Right after his selection as Romney's running mate, Bloomberg News reported, "Insurance employees and their families have given $815,328 to Ryan's election efforts over his career, more than any other industry." These donations include those made to his leadership committee as well as his campaign account.

At the top of the ticket, Governor Mitt Romney has raised nearly $2.7 million from the industry compared to $1.5 million for President Barack Obama.

But Ryan isn't the only House member raking in industry campaign cash. The supporters of his budget plan are the top recipients of the insurers' largesse, according to Public Campaign Action Fund analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

The analysis below includes donations from the political action committees (PACs) and employees of insurance companies and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to the members' campaign committees. Leadership PACs are not included but would drive these numbers higher.

• Current U.S. House Members who voted for Ryan's budget plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program have received nearly twice as much insurance industry campaign cash this cycle as those who voted against the bill. Supporters of the bill have received at least $14 million this cycle from the industry while opponents received $7.4 million.
• On average, individual supporters of the plan received 53 percent more money in the 2012 cycle than opponents - $60,472 to $39,435.
• More broadly, supporters of Ryan's plan have received $49.7 million in contributions from insurance interests during their time in Congress, nearly $12 million more than opponents, who have received $38 million.
• Eight of the top 10 recipients of insurance industry money this cycle are Ryan plan supporters - including every member of House Republican leadership.
• House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is the top recipient of industry cash this cycle in the House, bringing in $463,000 from the industry for the 2012 election and nearly $1.7 million over his career.
• Members of the leadership team - Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Conference Chair Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) - have received a combined $1.4 million in contributions in 2012 and $5 million over their careers.

A full table of insurance and HMO contributions received by members supporting the Ryan plan is available below.

An army of industry lobbyists backs up all of these donations. Since 2011, insurance interests and HMOs have spent a combined $344 million lobbying Congress and federal agencies.

***

The Federal Election Commission estimates that $6 billion will be spent on the 2012 election, making it the most expensive in history. Much of that money is being spent by wealthy special interests that want to see their preferred candidates elected in order to pass legislation beneficial to them or block bills they don't like. Insurance executives and their companies are a prime example, and they are also likely spending millions more on secret donations to groups like the US Chamber of Commerce.

When the insurance industry buys its preferred policies at the expense of everyday people, it highlights the problem with our current campaign finance system, in which elected officials have to make voting decisions based not on just what's best for their constituents, but what's best for their campaign bank accounts. And everyday Americans pay the price.

This is the first in a series of articles about how the Ryan/Romney budget affects Pennsylvania.  The research comes from our allies, as indicated in the links.

How the Ryan/Romney Budget Hurts Pennsylvania

From Nuns on the Bus

Head Start

Cuts $66.3 million out of Pennsylvania's Head Start budget over two years

Eliminates 9,754 Head Start preschool slots for Pennsylvania children over two years

Results in 3,530 lost jobs over two years

Special Education

Cuts more than $108 million out of special education funding for Pennsylvania

Affects nearly 73,000 special education students in Pennsylvania

Title I

Reduces educational services for 147,300 disadvantaged Pennsylvania students by 2014

Results in 1,530 job losses

Medicaid

1,620,000 fewer Pennsylvania seniors and children receive health care

Between 213,401 and 215,652 Pennsylvania jobs lost over five years, mostly in the private sector

Health insurance for small businesses and their employees

Ends tax credit that would help 131,780 Pennsylvania small business offer health insurance to their employees

Takes an average of $859 out of the pocket of the approximately 712,800 Pennsylvania small business employees who would be helped by the tax credit to their employers to purchase health insurance

 Medicare prescription drugs

Costs Pennsylvania seniors approximately $162,459,000 a year

Takes approximately $670 a year out of the pockets of 243,400 Pennsylvania seniors.

 Supplementary Nutrition/Food Stamps

3,611 fewer Pennsylvania jobs

159 million fewer meals for low-income Pennsylvania families

Philadelphia pizzeria owner says he would gladly pay 20 cents more per pie if it meant Affordable Health Care for Americans

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Last week, John Schnatter, the founder and CEO of Papa John's Pizza - a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser - announced that the Affordable Care Act will raise the cost of his pizza 11 to 14 cents each, or 15 to 20 cents per order.

But small business owners disagree

Philadelphia pizzeria owner Brian Dwyer, creator and spokesperson for Pizza Brain, says "As a pizza consumer, I will gladly pay 20 cents more per pie if that meant that people and their families got health insurance."

"The whole idea of a pizza shop is that it is a community hub, where strangers can meet each other and share a slice of pizza. Pizza is so inherently communal that to complain about 11 cents a slice is a good indicator that the owner of Papa Johns has lost touch with the heart of what pizza is really about; community."

Brian, says as a small business owner he is excited about the prospect of providing his employees health insurance. "We want to provide health insurance for our employees, we want to provide our employees with the best possible options. To be able to give back to the people that work for and with us is what Pizza Brain is all about."

And Brian isn't the only small business owner who feels this way.

Bret Keisling, owner of a law practice in Harrisburg says "the tax credits available under the Affordable Care Act will allow him to grow and expand his business while also attracting the best and the brightest employees."

Luckily for small business owners, under the Affordable Care Act small businesses who provide health insurance to their employees qualify for a small business tax credit of up to 35% to offset the cost of insurance.

And beginning in 2014, small businesses with generally fewer than 100 employees can shop in an Affordable Insurance Exchange, which gives them the leveraging power similar to what a large business enjoys when purchasing health insurance.  

Check out Pizza Brain here.

ObamaCare Allows Pennsylvania Women to Take Control of Their Health

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - In a momentous step forward, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebeluis announced that--thanks to ObamaCare--47 million women nationwide will have access to free prevention-related health care services without paying out of their own pocket. This means that, beginning August 1, 2012, 2,121,806 women in Pennsylvania can take greater control over their health by having access to life-saving preventive care free of charge.

For the first time ever, Pennsylvania women will be granted access to potentially life-saving tests and services, without having to worry about costs. No longer will Pennsylvania women be at the disposal of their insurance companies, but will instead be able to take control of their well-being and make decisions to keep them healthy, catch possibly serious conditions at an earlier state and protect themselves and their families from colossal medical bills.

"Pennsylvania women shouldn't have to make healthcare decisions because of worries about cost," said Michael Morril, Executive Director of Keystone Progress. "Thanks to ObamaCare, women now have access to important preventive care measures that will go a long way towards keeping our families healthy. When we talk about access to care, this is exactly what we mean."

As Secretary Sebelius put it, "President Obama is moving our country forward by giving women control over their health care. This law puts women and their doctors, not insurance companies or the government, in charge of health care decisions."

While certain preventive care services were already mandated by the Affordable Care Act, the eight new preventative services required by the law include: well-woman visits, gestational diabetes screening that helps protect pregnant women from one of the most serious pregnancy-related diseases, domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling, FDA-approved contraceptive methods, and contraceptive education and counseling, breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling, HPV DNA testing for women 30 or older, sexually transmitted infections counseling for sexually-active women, and finally HIV screening and counseling for sexually-active women.

Based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, these new provisions relied on physicians, nurses, scientists and other experts, as well as evidence-based research, to determine the services that are critical to ensuring women's long-term health. These vital preventative services will allow women to take their health into their own hands and get the care they need before it's too late.

Thanks to the ObamaCare, stable, affordable health care is becoming a reality for thousands of women and their families across Pennsylvania and for millions of Americans nationwide.

To learn more about the health care services you may be eligible for at no extra charge under the Affordable Care Act, go to http://www.healthcare.gov/prevention

For information about the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report on the number of adult and adolescent women in Pennsylvania eligible for the preventive services at no charge after Aug. 1, 2012, see http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/womensPreventiveServicesACA/ib.shtml

Posted by Lee Fang

The health insurance industry secretly sponsored over $100 million in anti-health reform ads through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The New York Times recently ran a very important story showing that opponents of health reform, mostly industry-funded groups, overwhelmed the airwaves with negative advertising against the law. The reported numbers, $235 million against health reform versus $69 for it, only show part of the picture, since the Times decided to quantify only the money spent after the bill passed in late March, 2010.

Read more →

Philadelphia--Five years after his award-winning film on the U.S. healthcare system premiered around the world, Michael Moore returns to Philadelphia with eight of the subjects of the film in tow. They'll be joined by health insurance industry whistleblower Wendell Potter who once spied on them all for the industry as the film opened back in 2007 but who now joins them in the fight for a more sane and humane healthcare system.

Moore will be on stage at Plays and Players Theater for a retrospective look at why he made SiCKO and what he hoped the film would do to advance the cause for healthcare justice and to take a look at what has happened since then as the Supreme Court rules on the Affordable Care Act and Americans are left wondering what's next for their own access to care.  Patty Eakin, RN, from the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) will join in the event with many other Pennsylvania advocates for health system reform, and the national advocacy group and Philadelphia-based  Healthcare-NOW.

The SiCKO subjects attending in Philadelphia include two of the three 9/11 responders from NYC, Reggie Cervantes and Billy Maher; two SiCKO subjects who lost loved ones to the broken system, Dawnelle Keys and Julie Pierce; Lee Einer, who was SiCKO's own health insurance industry whistleblower; Adrian Campbell Montgomery who slipped over the boarder to Canada to get care for herself and her young daughter; and Larry and Donna Smith, who lost everything they had to healthcare expenses though they always carried health insurance.

WHAT:  Still SiCKO After All These Years, with Michael Moore, Wendell Potter and the subjects of SiCKO

WHEN:  7 to 9 p.m., Saturday, June 30^th, 2012

WHERE:  Plays and Players Theater, 1714 Delancey Street, Philadelphia

Public invited, seating is limited.  Tickets Available On-line. First come, first served

http://tiny.cc/sicko5