From the Committee on Energy and Commerce, here's a breakdown of what America's Affordable Health Choices Act would mean for Rep. Jim Cooper's district. Of course, the plight of small businesspeople, the uninsured, the one-catastrophic-illness-away-from-bankruptcy families and the slipping-through-the-cracks-of-Medicare-Part-D elderly in Middle Tennessee are all pretty small potatoes compared to the deep pockets of the health insurance industry.
Here's what Cooper is doing his damnedest to deprive us Middle Tennesseans of:
16,000 small businesses that would qualify for tax credits of up to 50 percent of the costs for providing health insurance.
7,800 seniors in Coop's district, despite being covered under Medicare Part D, hit a "donut hole" and are forced to pay the full costs for their drugs. Under the legislation Cooper opposes, the donut-hole drug costs would be reduced by 50 percent, and ultimately eliminated.
2,060 bankruptcies in Middle Tennessee were caused by medical crises the insurance companies, in their benevolence, declined to pay for in 2008. Nearly everyone would be covered by this reform and out-of-pocket costs for medical bills would be capped at $10,000 a year.
97,000 uninsured Tennesseans in Coops district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 97 percent of Americans would have health insurance when the bill takes effect. That's 76,000 previously uninsured Middle Tennesseans now insured.
Thanks Coop!
H/T Kos
