HHS Secretary releases new report highlighting health insurance reform

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report, Protecting Families and Putting More Money in Your Pocket: How Health Insurance Reform Will Lower Costs and Increase Choices. The report highlights how health insurance reform will benefit families across the country and is available now at www.HealthReform.gov.

“Health insurance reform isn’t about politics, it’s about families. Every day, millions of families across the country wonder how they will pay their skyrocketing medical bills or what they will do if their children get sick,” Secretary Sebelius said. “Those families are our priority and we are fighting to give them the affordable, secure, stable coverage they need.”

Under the health care status quo, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer is $13,375, more than double the premium in 2000 and premiums have grown more than three times faster than wages. The number of people in working families who spend more than ten percent of their income on health care has more than tripled. Additionally, a recent survey estimated that 72 million non-elderly adults have accumulated medical debt or had difficulty paying medical bills in the past year -- and 61 percent of them had insurance.

Health insurance reform will ensure that every American can find affordable health care coverage, control costs for families and provide Americans with unprecedented stability and security. Reform will also help strengthen the American economy and put more money in the pockets of American families. Lowering health care costs by 1 percent will create 320,000 jobs nationwide and raise median family income by $6,800 by 2030. Reform will also drive down premiums for families and limit out-of-pocket costs that eat into the family budget.