Shaheen Statement On Passage Of The Senate Health Care Reform Bill

Statement

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen today released the below statement following final passage of the Senate health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

"Today, our nation took a historic step forward in a quest that has spanned generations - to provide better quality and more cost effective health care to all Americans.

"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will provide access to health insurance for over 30 million Americans and tens of thousands of people in New Hampshire who are currently without it. It will prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to patients who have pre-existing conditions. It will provide New Hampshire's small businesses with significant tax credits to help them cover health insurance for their employees. This bill strengthens Medicare by extending the solvency of the program and helping seniors with the high cost of prescription drugs. And this bill is fully paid for - it will not add one dime to our national deficit. In fact, it will reduce the deficit by $132 billion over the next 10 years.

"This bill is not a perfect fix to our health care problems, but it will put us on the path to a stable and secure health care system."

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