House HealthCare to be signed into law

Martinez News-Gazette reports
August 4, 2009

Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), one of the three principal authors of the health insurance reform bill in the House of Representatives, said today that significant progress is being made in Congress on the issue and that he expects a strong reform bill to be signed into law later this year.

Miller said the alternative to passing health insurance reform is “unacceptable, unaffordable, and unfair.” People with insurance will see their costs rise by an average of $1,800 per year, every year, without reform, Miller said. In addition, people are at risk every day of losing their insurance or having their claims denied because of a pre-existing condition.

In July, three committees in the House – the Education and Labor Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, and the Energy and Commerce Committee – each passed a version of the bill, and those three versions will be put together in one bill that the House will consider later this year. As one of the three committee chairs, Miller will be at the center of those discussions

“Our bill offers stability, security and quality,” Miller said, “and it will not increase the federal budget deficit.”