Current Campaigns
Making Health Care Work
America's health care costs are skyrocketing, threatening the future
of families, small businesses and the nation as a whole. Premium costs
are going up at four times the rate of wages, while millions of
Americans can't find security or peace of mind because insurers have
the power to deny care if you get sick or have a pre-existing condition.
But
now, the legislation passed by the U.S. Senate will help lower costs
for Americans and once and for all level the playing field between
American families and insurance companies.
Here's what the health reform would mean for you:
• Reining in health costs by improving the quality of care:
investing in prevention and primary care; rewarding quality and
efficiency of care, not the quantity of tests and procedures ordered;
AND doing new research that will arm you and your family doctor with
the best science on which treatments work best
• Stopping insurance company abuses:
Pre-existing condition denials, lifetime or annual caps, revocation of
coverage or price-gouging when you get sick will be illegal. If you
lose your job and your coverage, affordable coverage choices will be
provided through a health insurance exchange.
• Enhancing choice and competition:
In new health insurance exchanges, individuals and small businesses,
and, if a state authorizes it, large employers can choose from private
plans that meet standards for quality and affordability as well as
special nationwide plans similar to the Federal Employee Health
Benefits Program enjoyed by members of Congre
• Holding insurers accountable: by demanding much greater accountability from insurance companies than under federal and state current law
• Insurers will be forced to spend 80-85% of your premiums on care and less money padding their bottom line.
• Insurers who jack up their rates excessively can be barred from competing for your business in the exchange.
•
Health insurers will offer national plans to Americans under the
supervision of the Office of Personnel Management, the same federal
agency that oversees health plans for Members of Congress.
Click Here to download a detailed U.S. PIRG report card assessing the bill's ability to lower health care costs for consumers, taxpayers, and the country as a whole.
Safe & Affordable Prescription Drugs
Pharmaceutical companies make the medicines that enable us to live healthier, longer lives. But their business practices also drive up drug prices and increase the risk of harmful side effects, and their strong-armed lobbying has blocked needed reforms. Read more.
