Bath, NY - Today, U.S. Representative John R. “Randy” Kuhl, Jr. responded to the deceitful and false advertisement put out by Health Care For America. Health Care For America, a liberal organization funded by special interests like the Moveon.org and AFL-CIO, touts incorrect information from a health care bill passed by the House in the 109th Congress.
“After watching my father suffer with cancer for two years before succumbing to the horrendous disease, I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to ensure that more families do not experience the pain my family did. This is why the deceitful and outright lie that Health Care For America spews on their advertisement was so offensive to me. This ad plays on the fear of those suffering with cancer or those who have lost loved ones to cancer and that is despicable.
“The bill in question, H.R. 525, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005, expressly prohibits association health plans (AHPs) from charging higher rates for sicker individuals or groups within the plan. It says it in the language of the bill that AHPs must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act(HIPAA), which prohibits group health plans from excluding high-risk individuals with high claims experience. Thus, it will not be possible for AHPs to `cherry pick’ because sick or high-risk groups or individuals cannot be denied coverage.
“The truth is that this legislation (H.R. 525) significantly expands access to health coverage for many of the 45 million Americans who are currently uninsured. The bill allows small businesses to band together through AHPs and provides quality health care to their workers at a lower cost.
“Throughout my time in Congress I have fought to increase access and quality in our nation’s health care system. Because of the bills that I have cosponsored and supported, I received a Certification of Excellence from the National Breast Cancer Coalition of America. I cosponsored over 40 pieces of legislation to promote the awareness, prevention, research, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and funding for various types of cancer. Just a few weeks ago, I voted to increase breast cancer research and ensure that breast cancer patients are allowed to fully recover in the hospital and do not receive ‘drive-thru’ mastectomies.