Congressman Pete Sessions Cited for Distortion of Facts on Affordable Care Act

Press Release

Dallas Morning News veteran journalist, Steve Blow, in his 7/20/12 column titled "Politics twisting the truth in health care debate*" described how a number of Affordable Care Act statistics on Congressman Pete Sessions' web site distorted the facts, mislead and that the statistics were referred to as "Lies". When the journalist contacted Congressman Session's office to ask for source citations on his data, "…his press secretary said the figures were taken from a newsletter of another Republican congressman". Incredibly, Congressman Session could not substantiate his information and evidently prefers to confuse rather than inform his constituents.

Congressman Sessions -- on the foremost issue of the day impacting Americans' health, the Affordable Care Act ("ACA") -- prefers to confuse and distort facts rather than find solutions. Congressman Sessions is simply out of touch with the people of CD-32.

Heath care in general is a complicated issue. The public is tired of their politicians fueling partisanship and dysfunction. The residents of Congressional District 32 expect fact based, accurate communications from their representative which will assist in their understanding a program's benefits and costs, not partisan dis-information!

Katherine Savers McGovern, Democrat candidate for US Congress, District 32, is running for Congress to get things done for the constituents of District 32. She offers a refreshing alternative to Congressman Sessions' out-of-touch, lack of concern or service to his district's constituents. Ms. McGovern is running on a message of common sense seeking solutions that maximize the benefit for the most residents. Said McGovern, "People want their representatives to be forthright and honest, to solve problems not to make problems and waste time; they expect their representatives to get things done." Katherine is working for the common good.

It is now time for Texas Republican politicians like Congressman Pete Sessions and Rick Perry to stop wasting taxpayer dollars fighting something that the Supreme Court has made clear is perfectly legal. It is time to move on and to start taking steps to implement the law. Texas is already well behind the curve, and Texas taxpayers and businesses are going to be the ones who suffer. It's time to stop playing politics. The Affordable Care Act is not perfect legislation. It may require amendments and some corrections but it's a good program to build on and improve.

McGovern stated that the decision of the US Supreme Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act will benefit millions of Americans, particularly those in both the old CD-32 and the NEW CD-32. "The newest Congressional Budget Office ("CBO") rating shows that, rather than increasing the deficit by trillions as Republican politicians like Sessions assert, the ACA will reduce the deficit by $84 billion."***

The Supreme Court ACA decision reassures the 3.1 million young people and seniors who have already benefitted from the ACA that they will continue to receive health care and that those in greatest need will have access to health care.

In Congressional District 32, the ACA has already assured that:

8,100 young adults in the district now have health insurance to age 26 via their parents' health insurance policy
6,700 in district seniors received prescription drug discounts worth $4.8 million, an average discount of $710 per senior
49,000 in-district seniors received Medicare prevention services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles.
21,000 children and 90,000 adults now have health insurance that covers preventive services without paying any co-pays, coinsurance, or deductibles.
520 in district, small businesses received tax credits to help maintain or expand health care coverage for their employees.
9,000 to 43,000 children with preexisting health conditions can no longer be denied coverage by health insurers.
130,000 residents in the district have been protected from excessive rate increases by the Act's limitation on the amount of money that health insurers can spend on administrative expenses and profits, and requiring health insurers to post and justify rate increases of 10% or more -- indeed, insurance rebates to policy holders from insurance companies that did not comply with the Act are soon to be distributed.
 350,000 residents have been protected from threats of elimination of health coverage by insurance companies
190,000 residents are no longer threatened with a lifetime insurance coverage limit
In September 2012, at least 350,000 district residents will receive an easy-to-understand summary of benefits and coverage under their health care plan -- this information will allow the consumer to comparison shop among insurance carriers to decide which policy best meets their family's needs.
In 2014, when the Act is fully effective, 153,000 residents who now lack health care coverage will have access to affordable coverage for the first time
In 2014, when the Act is fully effective, for the first time everyone in the district will be protected from discrimination by insurers based on a preexisting health condition.**

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