WASHINGTON — As Democrats in the House and Senate hash out the myriad differences between their respective versions of health care legislation, 21 advocacy groups and religious leaders in Nebraska called Wednesday for an emphasis on making health care more affordable.
“This overarching goal — making health care affordable and accessible to all Americans — is thwarted if people are required to purchase coverage that costs too much and offers too little,” they wrote to the U.S. senators from Nebraska, Mike Johanns, a Republican, and Ben Nelson, a Democrat.
Nelson provided the crucial 60th vote to advance the Senate version of the bill and is likely to have considerable input on the final version of the bill. Johanns joined all of his fellow Republicans in voting against the Senate bill and is expected to oppose the final version.
During a conference call with reporters, local leaders with Nebraska Appleseed, the Nebraska Farmers Union, AARP and Change That Works Nebraska urged lawmakers to take the strongest provisions in each bill related to making health care affordable.
The House bill, for example, includes a somewhat larger expansion of Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor.
Both bills include federal subsidies that would make premiums more affordable for those purchasing health insurance, but those on the conference call said there is a dividing line between the two bills at 250 percent of the federal poverty level, which translates into about $46,000 for a family of three.
Jennifer Carter of Nebraska Appleseed said those with incomes below that level would see more affordable care under the House bill and those above it would benefit more from the Senate bill.
Of course, taking the most generous provisions from each chamber’s bill most likely would increase the overall cost of the final product, but Carter said it’s worth finding a way to pay for that additional cost.
The Nebraska Farmers Union stressed the importance of lowering costs for small businesses and production agriculture, while the AARP highlighted provisions to limit “age rating,” or the practice of insurance companies charging older customers much more expensive premiums than younger people.
The House approved tighter limits on age rating than the Senate.
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