Today, the Energy and Commerce Committee released a district-level analysis on the impact of health insurance reform legislation.  The analysis is posted online for all 435 House districts.  The analysis  provides information on the benefits in the legislation to middle-class families, small businesses, seniors, health care providers, and the uninsured. Congress is taking the final steps to pass comprehensive health insurance reform to ensure all Americans have access to affordable, high quality care.

Below is the full Dear Colleague letter from Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman to every member of Congress on the analysis:

March 17, 2010

Dear Colleague:

The House will soon vote on health care reform legislation. This legislation will make health care affordable for the middle class, provide security for seniors, and guarantee access to health insurance for the uninsured – while reducing the federal deficit by over $100 billion over the next decade. Read the rest of this entry »

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congresswoman Doris Matsui and Congressman Charlie Wilson held a press conference this afternoon in the Capitol following a meeting with advocates for seniors on behalf of comprehensive health insurance reform legislation. The advocates included Bonnie Cramer of AARP and Trish Nemore of the Center for Medicare Advocacy.  Below are the Speaker’s opening remarks, closing statement, and a brief question and answer session:

Speaker Pelosi Opening Remarks:

“Good afternoon.  Yesterday we were here with the little children, the youngest one six weeks old.  We had sets of twins and a lot of fun, and at the end of it they gave me a diaper, which I should have brought over, that said 56 percent increase in insurance rates stinks.  [Laughter.]  America needs a change.

“Today, I have this exciting thing that I got in San Francisco over the weekend.  A friend of mine who was part of the Administration when they were passing Medicare in 1964 gave me the count sheets.  At one point, the for was 174, oppose 197.  That wasn’t any good and then how they went through the sheets with the names of the Members and all the rest, and then how they ended up with a victory at the end—very exciting.  And it is in that tradition of making a difference, a change for the American people, sitting right up there with Social Security, Medicare, health care for all Americans. Read the rest of this entry »

In remarks today in Ohio, President Obama directly challenged claims by opponents of health insurance reform about the impact of legislation on seniors and Medicare:

“Yes, we are going after the waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare.  But that’s because these are dollars that should be spent on care for seniors, not the care and feeding of insurance companies through subsidies and sweetheart deals.  Every senior should know: there is no cutting of your guaranteed Medicare benefits.  Period. Read the rest of this entry »