Rep. Chabot Newsletter: "Bringing Down the Cost of Health Care"
I believe one of the most important issues in America today is access to affordable health care. In Congress we have been working on several initiatives to expand access, reduce costs and make our health care system the most effective and innovative in the world. To accomplish this, we need to continue to make quality health insurance more affordable for children, working families and individuals through tax credits and deductions. We should also pursue regulatory and malpractice reforms that benefit consumers and strengthen Medicare for today's seniors and future generations.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding health care reform, or any other issue before Congress, please feel free to contact our office.
Sincerely,
Steve Chabot
Chabot Introduces Health Insurance Affordability Act
Congressman Steve Chabot recently re-introduced the Health Insurance Affordability Act (H.R. 3975) to help families purchase quality health insurance. The legislation would allow individuals to deduct from their taxes the full cost they pay for health insurance premiums. This will provide financial incentives to consumers to purchase the health insurance plan that best meets the needs of their families.
Under Congressman Chabot’s bill, employees who receive health insurance benefits from their employer would be able to deduct the amount they pay out of pocket for their health insurance. Taxpayers would not be required to itemize deductions on their tax returns in order to receive the tax benefit.
Chabot Supports Children’s Health Insurance Program
Congressman Chabot is also supporting efforts to strengthen the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. He has cosponsored legislation (H.R. 3888) to expand the program to allow more children to participate while also providing tax credits to families who earn up to $62,000 per year to purchase health insurance for their children.
In 1997, Congressman Chabot voted to create the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to assist children whose families earned too much to qualify for Medicaid (which generally covers lower income individuals and families), but had trouble affording basic health insurance. 150,000 Ohio children are currently enrolled in the program and more than 6 million children participate nationwide. Congressman Chabot would like to see the program reauthorized in a sustainable manner to cover these children and thousands more.
Chabot Votes Against Medicare Cuts
Congressman Chabot believes it is important to protect Medicare for seniors who depend on the program for their health care. That is why he voted against legislation that cut $193 billion from Medicare and could eliminate the Medicare Advantage program for millions of seniors across the country.
The legislation that Chabot opposed included $157 billion in cuts to the popular Medicare Advantage program, $15.3 billion in cuts to Medicare Part A for skilled nursing, rehabilitation and long term care facilities, $9.6 billion in cuts to Medicare Part B and $11.1 billion in additional cuts for home health care and other programs for seniors.
While the legislation passed the House, Congressman Chabot voted against the bill. He believes Congress should be working to strengthen Medicare and ensure it is delivering quality health care to our senior citizens.
