When it comes to health care, the cost of inaction is simply too high. More than 390 Ohioans lose their health insurance every day. Small businesses and the self-employed often pay double or triple what large businesses pay for coverage. By 2007, 62 percent of bankruptcies were due to medical costs. And forty-five thousand Americans die each year because they are uninsured and can’t get the care they need. American families and businesses deserve better.

On November 7, 2009, the House of Representatives passed legislation, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), by a vote of 220 to 215. A consolidated Senate health reform bill, the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (H.R. 3590) was passed on December 24, 2009, by a vote of 60 to 39. Though similar in many respects, these bills are not identical. Congress is currently working to produce a final piece of legislation.

The bill passed by the Senate late last year, with my support, would lower costs for middle class families with insurance, while providing help to 31 million Americans who lack it. This legislation would also invest in small businesses by providing an immediate tax credit to help employers afford health benefits for their workers, and would place an immediate ban on pre-existing condition exclusions for children. Despite the great deal of misinformation circulating about health reform, seniors on Medicare would see their prescription drug costs cut in half, not increased, and for the first time, would have access to free annual check-ups and preventive screenings. The bill, which has been endorsed by AARP, would also extend Medicare’s solvency by nearly a decade.

Overall, passage of both the House and Senate legislation means that Americans are one step closer to having affordable insurance options if they change or lose their jobs. It means we are one step closer to ending insurance industry practices that cut off access to medically-necessary care or discriminate against women or individuals with pre-existing medical conditions. And it means we are one step closer to ensuring that insurance companies will have to spend premium dollars on medical care – rather than on lavish sales trips and exorbitant CEO salaries – or else give rebates to consumers.

Your views on this and other aspects of health reform are welcomed, and I will keep them in mind as Congress moves forward. If you wish to learn more about my work on health reform as well as the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that Ohioans have posed to my office, please visit my website at:

Sen. Brown’s Calendar of Events on Health Reform

Sincerely,

Sherrod Brown
United States Senator

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See Politico Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on ‘fear’, Politico, March 3, 2010, by Ben Smith.