THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR WASHINGTON WIRE. August 13, 2009: WPCNR continues its exclusive coverage of the first Telephone Town Meeting Congresswoman Nita Lowey of the 18th Congressional District held involving over 4,000 phone-in residents of the county Tueday evening. In the this second half of the meeting, the Congresswoman calls for cutting profits of insurance companies  and pharmaceutical companies to finance a major portion of the health care plan; she outlines how the House of Representatives Health Care Bill aids small business to afford health care plans, and goes on record as saying neither Medicare Advantage nor Medicare benefits are going to be cut. She also assures that mental health care will be required as part of any health plans going forward should the bill pass. We return now to the WPCNR record of the call:

Lowey expanded on her answer to Bryron of Larchmont, predicting dire consequences if health care reform was not addressed now:

 

“Addressing this crisis is not going to be cheap, but the cost of inaction is far worse. The U.S. currently spends 2.4 Trillion dollars a year on health care. Without reform, and at the pace we’re going, we could spend 33 Trillion in health care over the next decade which would threaten our economy as rising health cost results in millions of families losing jobs and insurance. I’m concerned about the costs, too. The President guarantees us it won’t increase the deficit. We really have to go after a lot of the waste.”

 

The moderator relayed a question on many phoner-ins’ minds, have members of congress read the bill? Lowey said, yes:

 

“You should have been with us at one of the caucuses. 7 hours straight. I flew down to Washington. We had a teach-in for members of congress. We all had the bills. We had  about a half dozen of the experts. We went through the bill section by section. And, we are closely monitoring ongoing changes to the bill in the committees of jurisdiction  and in ongoing negotiations on the bill. In addition, members of the House Democratic Caucus are continuing to review the bill, and my staff is working very hard on it. And we have a guarantee that the members (of the House) will have 72 hours to review the final bill, including any changes before floor consideration…I am very much up on it…I need all the advice I can get. If you have any questions just call us we’ll be happy to answer.”

 

Doug of Rye asked  “Why are you trying to run this by us? (when recent polls say Americans don’t want it and are happy with present plans):

 

Lowey replied, “If you have a plan you’re happy with. That’s terrific. But if you look at it, since 2000, personal premiums have more than doubled. A group of business people (large, small, medium-sized) met with me two weeks ago. When I said they (the premiums) had doubled, they said, are you kidding? They’ve all gone up 73% and many of them pay a hundred per cent for their employees.  So  since 1967, the cost of an average family health insurance policy has risen from 7% of median family income to 17%. And if you look at the bankruptcies, 60% of all U.S. bankruptcies were due to medical costs. …if you’re happy with your premiums, your health care, if you don’t mind the insurance companies raising the premiums. Keep it. No one is telling you you have to participate here. If you’re happy, you’ll be able to keep exactly what you have.”

 

Corey in White Plains phoned in  concerned the health bill would clandestinely fund abortions. Lowey allayed that fear: “abortion isn’t mentioned once in the bill. No taxpayer now pays for abortion.”

 

Christiana in White Plains, called in saying she had lost her job and did not have medical coverage as a result, “Why can’t I get any coverage here from the government. Is there anything in the bill that addresses this issue?”

 

Lowey said the bill would make this possible: “Sure. You would be able to go to the exchange and get an affordable plan with benefits comparable to members of congress, and tax credits would be available for individuals with incomes up to about $88,000 for a family of four.” She invited Christiana to come into her office in White Plains.

 

POLL 2: How Phone-Callers Felt on Health Plan Financing

 

The Moderator than took the opportunity  to conduct a poll on how the telephone phone-in audience felt on how the health care plan should be financed.

 

The choices were, Do You Believe the Health Care Plan Should Be Financed by

 

1.Taxing those with incomes over $1 Million a year

 

2.Taxing Insurance Companies on their profits.

 

3. Individuals should be taxed on their health benefits.

 

4. By eliminating inefficiencies and waste in the health care system.

 

or

 

5. Taxing junk food, alcohol and tobacco.

 

The results from the over 4,000 callers on the call-in were:

 

The majority, 37% felt the program should be paid for by eliminating waste and inefficiency in the health care system.

 

A  total of 24%  felt insurance companies should be taxed more on their profits.

 

Only 19% felt junk food, alcohol and tobacco should be taxed.

 

 

A total of 16% of callers on the phone-in felt the program should tax persons with incomes over $1 Million a year.

 

Only 4% felt individuals should have their health care benefits taxed.

 

 

Lowey’s comment on this was, “There is no question that we have to squeeze savings out of the insurance companies and pharmaceutical questions. “

 

The moderator followed with a consensus question from the callers about whether their Medicare benefits would be cut.

 

Lowey responded, “ First, the vast majority enrolled in traditional Medicare will not see their benefits cut. Seniors who are chronically ill and use a lot of prescription drugs will really see significant savings on their medication. The pharmaceutical industry has agreed to pay 50% of the cost of drugs stuck in the donut hole, where they currently must pay 100% of their costs (when the current year benefits run out). Furthermore the house bill will gradually eliminate the donut hole entirely.”

 

She said Medicare is one of the most successful government health inititatives in the nation’s history and she is committed to preserving stability in affordable benefits. “For those that say I don’t want a government-run program. Medicare is a government-run program, and I don’t know any seniors that want to give up or cut out Medicare. It is a rumor that Medicare benefits will be cut or eliminated entirely.”

 

Geri in Dobbs Ferry asked “What do you think about this bill in terms of procedures that need to be done. Am I going to have some person tell me, no, I can’t have a procedure done, will I have  to wait forever to have surgery?”

 

Lowey said, “ If you came in here (to my office) and talked to my staff, you’d see how much rationing is going on right now. The insurance company will say no before they ever say yes.  The truth is what many people consider rationing already happens with some insurance plans.

              There’s no insurance public or private that covers everything at any price. But many insurance companies limit drug formularies that the patient’s doctor may feel he or she needs, but instead of allowing  insurance company bureaucrats make those decisions based on the bottom line, not what treatment is most appropriate, the house proposal would support research to determine which treatments are best, but would not force doctors to use them….patients will still be able to  obtain further tests, treatments, or medications, but by pursuing the most effective treatments first, patients can be treated more efficiently and  effectively.”

 

Small Business Effects

 

Heidi from Yonkers, a small business owner asked if they would be required to offer and pay benefits for their employers.

 

Lowey said, “Small businesses will be among the greatest beneficiares of comprehensive health care reform. ….by making individual, family and ultimately employer provided plans more affordable through a health insurance exchange, health care reform will relieve businesses of an impossible choice: providing unaffordable insurance, or leaving employees uninsured and losing employees altogether.  The bill will also provide tax credits to tens of thousands of small businesses of New York’s 18^th district to help provide health care benefits to their employees. The (tax) credits   are calculated are based on number of employees and average salary. Business who fail to provide health care to their employees even with affordable rates and tax credits,  will be required to pay a fee equal to a very small percentage of a business payroll to support the exchange from which employees will likely seek coverage.

          I supported the updated proposal to insure this fee does not hurt the small businesses, who are the backbone of our economy. You’re not going to have to do anything unless your payroll is over $500,000.”

 

 

Neil in New City was next up, a mental health provider, asked the bill’s effect on mental health coverage. Lowey said the bill would require insurance companies to cover mental health services as a standard benefit.

 

Estelle in New City asked about Medicare Advantage….Lowey said, the house proposal does not eliminate Medicare Advantage for most seniors. “Right now the government”  she said “pays $177 Billion over ten years to insurance companies to participate in Medicare Avantage. Insurance companies already making tens of billions in exhorbitant profits should not be subsidized in my judgment. That’s the kind of savings we need to strengthen the health care system overall.By using these unnecessary subsidies in other areas of health care we can bolster benefits for seniors and increase the longterms solvency by at least five years.”

 

Supports Eliminating Insurance Companies exemption from anti-trust laws:

“We’re seeing collusion everywhere in the insurance industry.”

 

Paul from Chappaqua asked, why isn’t congress removing the anti-trust exemption the insurance companies now operate under, “Is that exemption going to be removed?”

 

“ President of hospitals can’t talk to each other because they’ll accused of collusion. But we’re seeing collusion everywhere in the insurance industry, and to me there is no reason why we shouldn’t repeal it, other than that they’ve had too influence in the congress and I think it’s outrageous. McCarren-Ferguson should be repealed.”

 

On the poll results on financing, Lowey commented that “We have to take as much as we can from the insurance industry. Also, the pharmaceutical companies they keep going up and up. And there is so much fraud in Medicare, and we really have to go after the fraud in Medicare.”

 

Health Care Now Vital Part of Keeping Economic Recovery Going

 

Andy from Scarsdale asked, why not spend the time to do it right instead of rushing the matter.

 

Lowey said, “some of us may remember the Hillary Clinton health care proposal. If we don’t do anything, it will cost $33 Trillion. Health care reform is a critical part of our economic recovery. If we don’t act soon,  there’s a real concern that skyrocketing health costs will get worse  for the families and businesses…health care costs are hitting taxpayers hard and putting our nation deeper into debt. The cost of inaction is too great.

 

        Lowey said how she does supermarket visits during the year and that this (health care costs) comes up all the time: “People worry. They lose a job How are they going to pay for their insurance. This bill may not be perfect, but unfortunately there are too many people who just want it to fail. They’re just saying no, no, no.  I’d like to see a good bipartisan bill. The main responseto your question, is this the right time. Everyone I speak with, especially in the business community, health care reform is a critical part of our economic recovery.”

 

Ms. Lowey then wrapped up the one-hour conference call.

 

 

WPCNR WASHINGTON WIRE. By John F. Bailey. August 13, 2009: On Tuesday evening, Congresswoman Nita Lowey of the Congressional 18^th District reached out to over 4,000 consitutents by telephone in the first of a series of Telephone Town Meetings. Tonight residents across Westchester will have another opportunity to ask Ms. Lowey questions as well as hear her talking points on the health care bill now being discussed in the House of  Representatives. WPCNR listened into the first of these historic uses of technology Tuesday night. Here is  how our session with Ms. Lowey went at the Tuesday night session where 4,000 callers were on the phone with the Congresswoman:

 

Nita Lowey at the Council of Neighborhood Associations Tuesday evening. Earlier she spoke with Westchester residents on a Conference Call the CitizeNetReporter participated in, as reported below.

 

 

The call came in, and I was given a number to call and a code to join the conversation. After you joined it, Ms. Lowey started the call explaining the reasons why health care reform was needed now, then set the stage by confronting critics of the plan by saying emphatically what the bill would do in its present form.

 

Ms. Lowey said to her telephone guests:

 

“ The Bill would reduce the number of uninsured Americans through a health insurance exchange offering plans modeled after the benefits members of congress receive, and would also expand the number of individuals eligible for Medicaid. Businesses who cannot afford to provide benefits to employees would be offered tax credits to offset the costs. It would help to contain costs by creating competition and implementing reforms for insurers providing payments to doctors for quality of care not the quantity and by eliminating billions of dollars of fraud and waste in our health care system.

Negotiations on this bill are continuing because  the three house committees have passed versions with different amendments, but as of today, here’s what the bill means to you:  1.) You can keep your current plan and your doctors. 2.) Your insurance company could not deny or drop your coverage for catastrophic care or charge you higher premiums because of age, gender, or health status. 3.) You would have no annual or lifetime benefit caps, and 4.) if you lost your health care for any reason, you could join a private or public plan in the exchange at an affordable cost.

 

For seniors on Medicare, you would pay 50% less than drug costs, until the “donut hole” is completely eliminated. You would keep all your current benefits. You could keep your present doctor. You would no longer pay at all for preventive services like annual physicals and screenings. And, if you don’t (presently) have insurance, here are the options for getting it:  You could get an affordable plan comparable to the benefits enjoyed by members of congress, through the exchange; tax credits would be available to individuals with incomes up to 400% of the poverty line (that’s about $88,000 for a family of four). More Americans will also be eligible for Medicaid.

 

Then she opened it up for questions which the participant could ask by punching up “STAR 3.”  You then joined a queue of questioners with questions being analyzed and consistent trends in callers’ questions were given Ms. Lowey to answer with a moderator framing them for her. At times live callers were allowed to answer questions directly.

 

The most dominant question that was presented by moderator first was whether illegal aliens would benefit from this health care reform.

 

 Congresswoman Lowery said, “That’s a myth. It is absolutely incorrect. At Section 246 of the bill expressly statesd quote nothing in the subtitles should allow for federal payments or affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States. Furthermore, the bill does nothing to prevent the Commissioner of the Health Exchange from requiring that individuals seeking coverage prove their citizenship.”

 

Gary asked “I wonder how we’re going to meet the health demands of 37million new patients without any provision really for a similar increase in the number of doctors?” (He added that his wife was a physician at a major Westchester hospitaland all of the colleagues she speaks to as doctors are opposed to the bill.).

 

Lowey  answered,  “Let me say I would appreciate all those people that your wife’s speaking to,  contact my office, so they can come in to talk to us, because I’d really like to respond to anyone who has questions. The fact is, the house bill makes significant investments to train more primary care physicians. There will be loans, incentives, adjustments for primary care physician payment rates to encourage medical students to choose primary care as their specialities. There will also be an emphasis on increased training of primary care physicians in hospital residency programs. And primary care doctors will be able to participate in medical homes that will help coordinate your care, and they’ll be paid extra for those services. The bill also includes a provision I offered to address the severe nursing shortage our country is facing.”

 

She said plans participating in the health plan exchange  would be required to meet a minimum number of benefits based on the plans covering members of congress and federal employees.

 

End of Life

 

The next item of consensus concern offered by Ms. Lowey’s moderator was a definition of  “End of Life Council and what it meant. Lowey explained,

 

 “ (The rumor is)the bill requires that everyone covered by Medicare be visited by an End of Life Council. Let me tell you that is not correct. This is the rumor. It’s a myth. It’s not true. It’s on the talk shows.   The bill creates a program within Medicare which will help the sickest patients make well-informed decisions about the care they want and need at the end of life. There is no Council that will be charged with making end of life care decisions. I don’t want a council to make an end of life caredecison for anyone in my family. A guiding principal  of health care reform is improving patient-centered care in which patients are active decision-makers regarding their own health and health care. There’s no council. It’s not true. It’s all a rumor. It means that a doctor will get paid to talk to the person to give them advice.”

 

Long Term

 

Next, a slew of questions concerned the cost of long-term care and how the bill addressed that issue.  Lowey reported ,

 

 “The house bill includes a provision called the Community Living Assisted Services and Support (CLASS Act). It would create a program in which participants pay a monthly premium in exchange for receiving daily benefits in the form of  home care, adult aid programs or nursing home.”

Then the moderator took a telephone poll  to determine what was the most pressing of issues persons were concerned with. The moderator asked in citizens on the call were most concerned that 1.) Health Care would be rationed, 2.) That they would lose current employer insurance or 3.) that health care would become socialized.

 

In less than 15 seconds, Ms. Lowey gave the results of the audience. Lowey said 35% of the people participating were concerned about rationing. Lowey said,

 

”Let me make it very clear, no insurance covers everything at any price, but many insurance companies limit drug formularies and treatments  a patient’s doctor may believe she or he needs, which sounds an awful lot like rationing to me.   Patients and doctors  not insurance bureaucrats can best make health care decisions and will be given the ability and tools to do so in this proposal. Patients will still be able to obtain further tests, treatments, medications, but by pursuing the most effective treatments first, patients can be treated more effectively.

 

“For the 48% who (expressed their concern) are concerned our health care system would become socialized. I want you to know it’s my and my colleagues’ priority to increase coverage and choices and decrease costs for every American. We’ve already had  government run health care programs for decades, Medicare, Medicaid,the veterans hospital system. Not only has medicine not been soclialized, these plans are generally respected for providing overall quality and affordable care.

 

The public plan, by the way, would be only one option in addition to private plans offered through the insurance exchange. There is no requirement for any American to enroll in the public option. The proposal would expand eligibility for Medicaid, mandate affordable benefit plans similar to those offered to federal employees and congress people, and contain the costs of  public and private insurance by creating competition for the insurance industry and eliminating waste and abuse in the health care system.”

 

Byron in Larchmont asked “how is all of this going to be paid for?”

 

Lowey said, “I’m very concerned that we squeeze out all the waste from the system, squeeze out the waste from the insurance industry and pharmaceutical industry. President Obama has insisted  the program does not increase the federal deficit. Congress and the administration are working aggressively to reign in costs by raising efficiency in  entitle programs, squeezing savings out of insurance and the pharmaceutical industry.

 

(To Be Continued)>