Talking Points: SCOTUS Health Care Reform Decision

From: Eric Gray eric@georgiademocrat.org

Date: June 28, 2012 1:15:00 PM EDT

To: Eric Gray eric@georgiademocrat.org

Subject: Talking Points: SCOTUS Health Care Reform Decision

HEALTH REFORM: Supreme Court Affirms Americans' Right to Quality, Affordable Health Care; Mitt Romney Would Repeal Obamacare and Refight Old Political Battles

Key Point: All three branches of government have now agreed that President Obama's health care law is the right thing to do. The law is already helping millions of Americans and will help millions more in the years to come. It's time to move past the same political battles and fully implement the law. Mitt Romney promises to repeal health reform on "day one," refighting old political battles of the past and denying millions of Americans affordable health care.

• Today the Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare is constitutional. The individual mandate was upheld, along with all the reforms that ensure Americans, not their insurance companies, have control over their health. By 2014, all Americans will have access to quality, affordable health care.

• Obamacare Is Already Working: Obamacare is already helping millions of Americans save money and live healthier lives, and will help millions more in the years to come. Americans aren't losing coverage or going bankrupt just because they get sick, preexisting conditions are being covered, and millions of Americans will keep saving money on their premiums, preventive care and prescription drugs.

• Largest Health Care Tax Cut in History: Obamacare will save middle-class families up to $2,300 a year on top of its largest health care tax cut in history, worth an average of $4,800 to about 19 million middle-class Americans. Because the rest of us have to pay for those who can afford health insurance but refuse to get it, the court's decision today means that free riders either have to get insurance or pay a small fine – which would apply to only about 1 percent of Americans. The individual responsibility requirement is the same policy Mitt Romney put in place in Massachusetts.

• It's Time to Move On: The American people want Washington to move past the political battle over health reform and get to work on the economy. Congress passed health reform, the President signed it, and today the Court ruled that it's constitutional. It's time to move on and fully implement the law so we can cut costs and ensure all Americans get the care they need.

• Mitt Romney and Republicans in Congress want to keep refighting the political battles of the past. Romney has made it clear that he would repeal Obamacare, saying he would "kill it dead." That would hurt millions of middle-class families, women, seniors and young Americans – and he's pledged to start on "Day One" of his presidency.

• Romney Would Take Away All of Obamacare's Benefits:
  • Banning Insurance Abuses: Insurance companies can't drop you because you got sick, made a mistake on your application or hit an arbitrary cap on coverage. Already 105 million Americans no longer have lifetime caps on their coverage.
  • Free Preventive Care: 86 million Americans got more access to preventive care – from lifesaving cancer screenings to regular checkups to immunizations – covered by Medicare or their insurance without a co-pay or deductible.
  • Rebates on Excessive Premiums: By August 1, 12.8 million Americans will have gotten rebates from their insurance company because it spent too much of their premium dollars on administrative costs or CEO bonuses.
  • Coverage for Young Americans Starting Their Careers: 3.1 million young adults who would've been uninsured have coverage through their parents' plans.
  • Discounts on Prescription Drugs: More than 5 million people got discounts on their prescription drugs in the Medicare "doughnut hole" – each saving an average of more than $600 last year.
  • Covering Preexisting Conditions: Starting in 2014, insurance companies won't be allowed to deny coverage or charge more based on health conditions, protecting the up to 129 million Americans with preexisting conditions. Already up to 17 million kids with preexisting conditions can't be denied coverage anymore.
  • Affordable Coverage for Everyone: People who couldn't afford insurance will either be able to get insurance through Medicaid or get generous tax credits that finally make coverage affordable. A typical middle-class family could pay up to 60 percent less for the same coverage – the largest-ever health care middle-class tax cut.
  • Stronger Medicare: Medicare will stay solvent through 2024, eight years longer than without Obamacare.
  • Smaller Deficits: Obamacare will reduce the deficit by more than $120 billion by 2021.

• Romney is Attacking the President for the Same Tax He Created in Massachusetts. The individual mandate in Massachusetts – which Romney personally championed and signed into law – is almost exactly the same as Obamacare's similar requirement. Massachusetts' penalties are administered through the tax code, labeled "tax penalties" and are about the same as Obamacare's fines on free riders.

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Eric Gray
Communications Director
Democratic Party of Georgia

office: 678-278-2012 x304
cell: 404-992-8699
eric@georgiademocrat.org