Issue Position: Safeguarding the Health of New Jersey's Families
Issue Position
Congressman Pallone has long advocated for all Americans to have access to quality affordable health care and health insurance. That's why in Congress, Frank Pallone was a primary author of the Affordable Care Act. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans are benefitting from expanded health care access, lower health care costs and stronger patient protections.
The ACA addresses so many of the gaps in the American health care system from closing the Medicare Part D "donut hole,' to stopping the practice of denying those with preexisting conditions insurance coverage, to claiming womanhood as a preexisting health condition, to allowing young adults to stay on their parents' coverage. This law has changed the way our country manages and delivers all phases of our health care system and
Thanks to health care reform, 5.1 million seniors who fell into the Medicare Part D "donut hole' have saved an average of $635 on their prescription drugs, and 2.5 million young adults gained insurance because they can stay on their parents plan until 26 if they are without job-based coverage. Today, up to 17 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied health coverage, and insurance companies are banned from imposing "lifetime limits' on health coverage -- freeing cancer patients and individuals suffering with chronic illness from worrying about going bankrupt because they are sick.
The ACA also required Medicare to provide routine screening for cancers by providing services like mammograms and colonoscopies without any co pay.
Efforts to lower health costs were a chief objective of the Affordable Care Act. The law helps achieve that goal with new tax credits for small businesses to offer health plans to its workers. Even though that was an important gateway, Congressman Pallone supports taking more steps to assist our small businesses. He has introduced a bill - the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2012 - that would boost the standard annual wage conditions and size of the businesses that meet the criteria for the credit.
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