Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

v.04.Sep'12

Health Care

"Henry Waxman has been pivotal in shaping legislation on health and drug regulatory issues." -- Phamexec, 10/1/2011

In one of the most powerful, industrialized countries in the world, no parent should have to choose between taking a child to the doctor and paying the rent. Henry Waxman has spent decades working in Congress to craft policy that advances equality and opportunity. Waxman has taken on the special interests that delay progress at the expense of the health and well-being of the American public.

Health Care Reform

Henry Waxman was a chief sponsor of the health insurance reform package that was passed in 2010. The law expands affordable health coverage to individuals of all ages and backgrounds while lowering costs, creating jobs, and strengthening the middle class. Some benefits, including 50% discounts on brand name drugs for seniors in the Medicare "Donut Hole," have already taken effect, and all provisions will be implemented by 2014. In addition to direct benefits for consumers, the law sets rules that rein in the insurance industry's worst abuses.

Since its enactment, the Affordable Care Act has helped millions by
- ensuring coverage for children, ending lifetime and most annual limits on care,
- allowing young adults under 26 to stay on their parent's health insurance, and
- giving patients access to recommended preventive services without cost.

This Affordable Care Act puts the American people, not insurance companies or the government, in charge of their health care.

Henry Waxman believes that repealing the Affordable Care Act would not just keep tens of millions of Americans uninsured or underinsured; it would have a devastating impact on our economy by significantly adding to our national debt and raising costs on individuals and businesses.

Making Generic Drugs More Accessible and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs

Henry Waxman and Republican Senator Orrin Hatch worked side by side to make it easier for generic drugs to enter the market. Their work transformed the availability of prescription drugs to consumers, leading to the exponential growth of generic drugs on the market. As a result, consumers have saved 1 trillion dollars on prescription drugs over a ten year period.

Championing Medicare/Medicaid

Henry Waxman has strongly fought efforts by the Republican majority in the House to end Medicare as we know it and to cut Medicaid. The Republican budget plan would inflict terrible harm on most Americans while protecting the wealthiest individuals and corporations.

Waxman believes that the GOP budget plan is fundamentally immoral. Its proposed changes to Medicare would cost seniors over $6,000 annually when the program begins, and that extra spending by seniors and individuals with disabilities would go to private health insurance plans and be used to provide more tax breaks to wealthiest Americans.

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