Healthcare Reform: The Time is Now!

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

I'm writing to ask that you work to make sure key provisions are upheld in the final healthcare bill in keeping with the House Bill: a public health insurance plan option, fair financing (that doesn't tax middle-class benefits), and a requirement that all employers pay their fair share.

We are very close to getting real healthcare reform that will work for all Americans. Healthcare reform is a crucial ingredient in strengthening this country. Rising healthcare costs put a tremendous strain on families, businesses, state governments and the federal budget. By working together to enact fair reform, we can create a better healthcare system that truly serves all Americans, making us healthier both physically and economically.

Taxing benefits is bad policy and bad politics. Please consider these points as you work to develop the final healthcare plan:

* The Benefits Tax will lead to reduced benefits and higher costs to workers and their families. Employers openly admit that to avoid this tax they will cut benefits and shift costs. They will NOT raise wages to make up for it.

* The Benefits Tax is designed to apply to more plans, and more people, every year. The cap on benefits grows much more slowly than the rate of medical inflation. A plan under the cap today can easily be over the cap tomorrow and subject to a 40 percent excise tax.

* The Benefits Tax does not reduce overall health costs. There is no evidence this kind of tax can hold down a worker's healthcare costs. It might even make things worse, leading consumers to delay care, which in turn will lead to more expense and worse outcomes down the road.

* Benefit cuts and increased consumer costs are NOT healthcare reform. The Benefit Tax goes against the stated health reform policy goals of "keeping benefits you have" and the promises made in the last election not to tax our health benefits.

Finally, a public healthcare option is the best way to help keep the soaring costs of healthcare in check, remedy disparities in access to care, and guarantee that high-quality, affordable coverage will be there for individuals and families no matter what happens.

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