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LIS News and Notes for November 2, 2009
Some bill research does not include the Governor's file because at the time we researched the bill, the sitting Governor had not released his chaptered bill file. If the Governor's file is not included with this particular research, please contact our office (1-530-666-1917 or quote@legintent.com) and we will be happy to provide this file at no charge if it is available. Please Note: Governor files did not exist prior to 1943.
LIS News and Notes
Federal Health Care Bill Unveiled: Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced H.R. 3962, the “Affordable Health Care for America Act,” on October 29, 2009. This bill would accomplish the following: 1) establish a mandate for most legal residents of the U.S. to obtain health insurance; 2) set up insurance “exchanges” through which certain individuals and families could receive federal subsidies to substantially reduce the cost of purchasing that coverage; 3) significantly expand eligibility for Medicaid; 4) substantially reduce the growth of Medicare’s payment rates for most services (relative to the growth rates projected under current law); 5) impose an income tax surcharge on high-income individuals; and 6) make various other changes to the federal tax code, Medicaid, Medicare, and other programs.
Follow the Money: In its Oct. 29th letter to the chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), along with the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), provided a preliminary assessment of H.R. 3962, stating that by enacting this new bill, as is and without amendments, this measure would result in a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $104 billion over a nine-year period (2010-2019). The CBO and JCT indicated that the net cost of the coverage expansions would be more than offset by the combination of other spending changes.
Criteria for Determining Effects of Proposals on Federal Budget Deficits: The CBO and JCT reported to the Senate Committee on Finance on Oct. 30th their clarification of the criteria being used by the CBO in its analysis of the current proposals to reform the health care and health insurance systems that would affect the federal budget and the nation’s spending for health care. This letter discussed the effects on federal budget deficits, effects on the federal budgetary commitment to health care, proposal approved by the Senate Committee on Finance, and H.R. 3962 in particular. You can read the CBO letter at: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10689/hr3962ClarifyMeasuresBaucusLtr.pdf
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