Return to the blog »

Senator Reid Introduces Health Reform Bill

Posted by: Julia Eisman on Nov 19, 2009

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced his health insurance reform bill that merges proposals adopted by the Senate Finance and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees. The bill will serve as the basis for Senate floor action over the next weeks.

Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, had this to say:

For America's families, the key assessment about health insurance reform will be a personal pocketbook test, namely: Will the legislation result in needed financial relief for families struggling to pay for health coverage and care?

The newly announced Senate bill scores high marks on the personal pocketbook test-making health insurance much more affordable for hard-working middle-class American families. 

Through tax-credit subsidies made available for plans in a newly created marketplace, the Senate bill limits a family of four with income under about $88,000 a year from spending more than 9.8 percent of the family's budget on health insurance premiums. With the average cost of family health insurance coverage at $13,000 a year, families could see their insurance costs cut in half or more. This affordability protection in the new bill is stronger than the previous provisions in the Senate Finance Committee bill.

As the bill moves forward, we urge that the pocketbook test scores continue to improve-with special attention to America's lowest-income families who have little room in their family budgets for spending on premiums, deductibles, or copayments. We hope that the Senate bill passes soon and that the strongest affordability protections possible are established in the Conference Committee bill.