June 19th, 2009 – The Patients’ Choice Act is the Republican response to the Democrat’s various proposals for Health Reform legislation.
The Patients’ Choice Act would provide a tax rebate of $$2,200 to individuals and $5,700 to families to help make health insurance more affordable. It will also make health insurance portable so people won’t feel locked into a particular job in order to maintain health insurance benefits.
The Patients’ Choice Act also includes provisions to help the hard to insure and people with chronic illnesses by sharing the risk across all health insurance companies, which would reduce premium costs for people covered under the plan. The rebates should actually help reduce the roles of people on Medicaid, by giving them more affordable access to private health insurance coverage.
The Republicans ideas may gain momentum, particularly in light of the recent Congressional Budget Office report that Senator Ted Kennedy’s health care reform would cost an eye popping $1 Trillion over the next 10 years and still would leave 36 million Americans uninsured. Estimates for the Senate bill are even higher with their health reform plan expected to cost $1.6 Trillion over the next 10 years.
