The health reform vote is coming in the House. Representative Gary Peters (MI-09) needs to keep listening to us, not the insurance companies.
In Peters' district, the House's improvements to the Senate health reform bill will [pdf]:
Improve coverage for 482,000 residents with health insurance.
Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 112,000 families and 20,100 small businesses to help them afford coverage.
Improve Medicare for 103,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.
Extend coverage to 18,500 uninsured residents.
Guarantee that 7,400 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
Protect 1,900 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.
Allow 44,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents' insurance plans.
Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $80 million annually.
A vote for health reform is a vote to stand with these people. A vote against health reform is a vote for the status quo, where insurance companies make record profits by raising rates by double digits (22% in Michigan in the last few months) and dropping millions of customers from their rolls.
The House may vote on health reform as early as this weekend. When the vote comes, Representative Peters has a chance to show us that he's still on our side.
