CONGRESSMAN TONKO STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF HEALTH CARE REFORM LEGISLATION

Congressman Paul Tonko released the following statement on the passage of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act:

“Today the House of Representatives took a giant step towards fixing our broken health care system by passing legislation that will provide coverage for millions of uninsured Americans, strengthen Medicare for our seniors, lower costs for businesses and individuals, and provide protections for those who already have health care coverage. In the 21st Congressional District alone, this bill will cover 22,000 of the uninsured and close the Medicare Part “D” donut hole that currently has 7,300 of our seniors paying out of pocket for prescription drug costs.

“As I traveled throughout the district over the past 10 months, I heard heartbreaking stories of families thrust into bankruptcy because they had been denied coverage when they became ill, heard from people who’ve had to decide between buying food and prescription drugs, and from small business owners who cannot provide coverage to their employees because it’s too expensive. The overwhelming number of voices have told me we need to fix the system, and that’s what we are doing today.

“To me, health care reform is about helping people, not politics. It’s about giving everyone access to affordable, quality health care. With this legislation, we bring quality health care within reach of millions of Americans, and enhance the care that those with insurance and Medicare already receive.”