Consumers

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009

hmoroz — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:12:07 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of uninsured Americans in 2008: 45.7 million

Estimated number of uninsured Americans after passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act: 23 million

Percentage growth in the uninsured between 2004 and 2007 that came from lower- and middle-income families: 70

Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 1999: $1,543

Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 2009: $3,515

Savings on premiums to a low-income family from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because they do not have to buy private, nongroup insurance: $10,076

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Access to health care is a critical component of a middle-class standard of living. Skyrocketing health care costs have created a vicious and destabilizing trap for middle-class Americans in which employer-sponsored coverage is offered less frequently and private coverage is increasingly unaffordable. Meanwhile, successful public programs that effectively cover children (SCHIP), the poor (Medicaid), and the elderly (Medicare) are unavailable to middle-class adults. Almost 46 million nonelderly Americans lack health insurance, the majority of whom are low- and middle-income, and the rate of the uninsured has grown significantly since 2000. At the same time, the average worker’s health care premium has increased 128% (to $3,515) since 1999. One study even found that just shy of two thirds of all bankruptcies are due to medical expenses even though the vast majority of these bankruptcies involve families who have health insurance. Because employers, too, have had to absorb similar premium increases, employer-sponsored insurance – the type of insurance most middle-class Americans obtain – has declined significantly in each of the last eight years. The economic downturn has exacerbated this situation and experts estimate that each percentage point increase in the unemployment rate results in substantial increases in the number of uninsured Americans. Given the high costs of obtaining insurance in the private, non-group market, which is nearly impossible without steady employment, many Americans have simply given up coverage over the last several years. In short, a perfect storm of increasing health care costs and a down economy has undermined the financial stability and endangered the wellbeing of the middle class and the aspiring middle class.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would do much to relieve the financial stress placed on these households by high health insurance costs while also extending health coverage to millions of Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would reduce the number of uninsured to 23 million, leaving just 6 percent of the population without health coverage. Expanding Medicaid to cover low-income adults is one of the most effective and cost-efficient means of covering more aspiring middle-class Americans. The expansion would enroll about 15 million individuals in Medicaid, providing an important public backstop for aspiring middle-class families. Indeed, public programs have successfully kept millions of children from becoming uninsured, while the lack of such programs for low-income childless adults has led to increased numbers of the uninsured among this population. Similarly, subsidized coverage in the Health Benefits Exchanges would reduce health care costs for tens of millions of households. Premium savings could be as high as $10,000 for a low-income household of four. Such savings are targeted at the very groups that need the most help.

At the same time as it helps reduce health care costs for middle-class and aspiring middle-class Americans, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act greatly improves health coverage by enacting strict requirements for the type of insurance that is offered. The bill prevents the nightmare scenarios of being denied coverage just because you have become sick or being forced to pay higher premiums because of a preexisting condition (in many policies, being a woman is effectively considered a preexisting condition). Eventually, it will define minimum benefits and cost limits that must be included in most health insurance plans, not just ones offered by the Health Benefits Exchanges. And it will ensure that health insurers do not use premiums to pay for administrative costs and profits, instead of medical care. In this way, affordable and adequate health insurance that protects individuals and their families during both normal medical events and extraordinary medical hardship will be available to all aspiring middle-class and middle-class households.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Health Reform,” from the Kaiser Family Foundation

“The Treatment,” A Health Care Reform Blog from The New Republic

“Competitive Health Care: A Public Health Insurance Plan That Delivers Market Discipline,” from the Center for American Progress Action Fund

Amendment #534 (Mortgage “Cramdown” Amendment) to Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009

hmoroz — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:13:16 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of properties on which foreclosure notices were filed in 2008: 2,330,483

Percentage increase in foreclosure notices between November 2008 and November 2009: 18

Number of foreclosures likely in the next five years, according to the Center for Responsible Lending: 13 million

Proportion of homes where owners are underwater, owing more on their mortgage than their property is worth: Nearly 1:4

Number of homes that the Center for Responsible Lending estimates will be saved from foreclosure by the bankruptcy modification provision: 800,000

Average decrease in the property value of each home in the neighborhoods surrounding the foreclosures that are likely to occur in 2009, in dollars: 7,200

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. Even as the economy has stabilized in recent months, the housing and job markets have worsened, middle-class families have continued to lose equity in their homes, and households are less able to afford abusive mortgages with exorbitant interest rates. The federal government and the mortgage industry’s continued failure to address the subprime mortgage and foreclosure crisis adequately could result in as many as 13 million foreclosures during the next 5 years. Despite widespread calls for action to confront the crisis, foreclosures increased 81% in 2008. Although the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program seeks to modify 3-4 million mortgages, only 4 percent of the 700,000 trial modifications made so far have been made permanent. Voluntary mortgage modifications by lenders and banks, encouraged by policymakers in place of comprehensive federal action, have failed to make mortgages more affordable and prevent widespread foreclosures.

Extending the same bankruptcy protections to primary residences that currently apply to luxury yachts and vacation homes is not only fair, but will reduce foreclosures by about 20%, according to Credit Suisse, and benefit about 800,000 households, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Strengthened bankruptcy protection is also beneficial to middle-class families who are not themselves facing foreclosure: foreclosures in 2009 will result in a $502 billion decline in property values for homes in neighborhoods surrounding those foreclosures, with an average decrease in property value per home of $7,200. Preventing foreclosures in those neighborhoods will keep property values up, benefiting all households. Indeed, an analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending found that similar legislation would avoid 600,000 foreclosures and thus maintain $72.5 billion in wealth for families not facing foreclosure. Modification of mortgages in bankruptcy will help maintain property values, while keeping middle-class families in their homes, limiting the self-reinforcing spiral of foreclosures and falling home prices.

Additionally, the bankruptcy provision provides a powerful incentive to banks to offer homeowners affordable loan modifications in order to avoid costly bankruptcy proceedings over which they have little control.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“A Tax-Free Foreclosure Solution: Loan Mods Through the Courts,” from the Center for Responsible Lending

Testimony of Adam J. Levitin, Georgetown Associate Professor of Law, on the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act, before the House Judiciary Committee

MakingHomeAffordable.gov, an Obama administration site with information about mortgage modification programs

Wall Street Accountability and Consumer Protection Act

hmoroz — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:24:17 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of delinquent loans originated by IndyMac, which failed in the summer of 2008, that required either very little or no documentation: 81.9

Estimated total support made available by the federal government to the financial system since 2007: $23.7 trillion

Year in which Goldman Sachs paid its highest bonuses ever: 2007

Year in which Goldman Sachs is expected to break this record: 2009

Total federal TARP funds used to bail out Goldman Sachs Group: $10 billion

Number of homes the Center for Responsible Lending estimates could be saved by court-supervised modifications of mortgages in bankruptcy: 800,000

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. The economic and financial crisis has demonstrated that the current financial regulatory system permits banks, mortgage brokers and servicers, and other firms to enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary Americans. Abusive and fraudulent mortgages sold to unsuspecting homeowners fueled the housing crisis while credit card companies used deceptive billing practices to mire cardholders in debt. The federal government leaped into action to assist the financial services industry when firms like AIG, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup were at risk. The $700 billion TARP program and trillions of dollars more in cheap loans and guarantees have nurtured the financial services sector back to health, profits, and gigantic compensation packages. Meanwhile, middle-class Americans continue to face foreclosure and abusive lending and credit card practices in addition to extended bouts of unemployment.

The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency is a critical innovation to protect ordinary Americans from deceptive and abusive lending practices. While consumers are currently guarded from faulty products like toasters, no single agency is tasked with overseeing the financial products and services – from credit cards to mortgages and student loans – that Americans rely on every day to earn a middle-class standard of living. The CFPA will be empowered to root out products and services that are harmful to aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans. It will promote equal access to safe credit products and root out harmful ones like certain subprime mortgages, abusive credit card practices, and usurious payday loans. The Agency is critical to making the financial services sector work for ordinary Americans. The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, which is included in the bill, also takes important steps to combat and end the abusive lending practices at the root of the financial crisis.

The legislation’s increased regulation of executive compensation, improved protections for investors, and expanded oversight of derivatives all address factors – compensation structures that encouraged excessive risk taking, fraudulent investment practices like Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, and opaque derivatives contracts – that contributed to the financial crisis. These steps will help ensure that similar practices do not precipitate another crisis.

The Financial Services Oversight Council, the regulatory powers granted to the Council, and the dissolution authority included in the legislation make the development of a financial threat into an agent of financial and economic destabilization less likely. By regularizing a process for oversight of financial markets and creating a mechanism for regulators to impose capital, leverage, and other standards on at-risk firms, the legislation significantly enhances the federal government’s capacity to stem an outbreak of instability before it begins. Most importantly for middle-class Americans, this process and the dissolution authority created by the legislation rely on assessments of the largest financial firms for funding. Thus, if future bailouts become necessary, they are much less likely to use taxpayer dollars.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Americans for Financial Reform

“Financial Regulatory Reform,” from the House Financial Services Committee

“Consumer Financial Protection Agency,” from the Consumer Federation of America

Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Exist Act

hmoroz — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:18:44 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:04:32 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of uninsured Americans in 2008: 45.7 million

Estimated number of uninsured Americans after passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act: 18 million

Percentage growth in the uninsured between 2004 and 2007 that came from lower- and middle-income families: 70

Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 1999: $1,543

Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 2009: $3,515

Savings to a low-income family and a higher-income family, respectively, from the Affordable Health Care for America Act because they do not have to buy private, nongroup insurance: $9,000, $1,260

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Skyrocketing health care costs have created a vicious and destabilizing trap for middle-class Americans in which employer-sponsored coverage is offered less frequently and private coverage is increasingly unaffordable. Meanwhile, successful public programs that effectively cover children (SCHIP), the poor (Medicaid), and the elderly (Medicare) are unavailable to middle-class adults. Almost 46 million nonelderly Americans lack health insurance, the majority of whom are low- and middle-income, and the rate of the uninsured has grown significantly since 2000. At the same time, the average worker’s health care premium has increased 128% (to $3,515) since 1999. One study has even found that just shy of two thirds of all bankruptcies are due to medical expenses even though the vast majority of these bankruptcies involve families who have health insurance. Because employers, too, have had to absorb similar premium increases, employer-sponsored insurance – the type of insurance most middle-class Americans obtain – has declined significantly in each of the last eight years. The economic downturn has exacerbated this situation and experts estimate that each percentage point increase in the unemployment rate results in substantial increases in the number of uninsured Americans. Given the high costs of obtaining insurance in the private, non-group market, which is nearly impossible without steady employment, many Americans have simply given up coverage over the last several years. In short, a perfect storm of increasing health care costs and a down economy has undermined the financial stability and endangered the wellbeing of the middle class and the aspiring middle class.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act would do much to relieve the financial stress placed on these households by high health insurance costs while also extending health coverage to millions of Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reckons that the bill would reduce the number of uninsured to 18 million, leaving just 4 percent of the population without health coverage. Expanding Medicaid to cover low-income adults is one of the most effective and cost-efficient means of covering more aspiring middle-class Americans. The expansion would enroll about 15 million individuals in Medicaid, providing an important public backstop for low-income families. Indeed, public programs have successfully kept millions of children from becoming uninsured, while the lack of such programs for low-income childless adults has led to increased numbers of the uninsured among this population. Similarly, coverage in the Health Insurance Exchange would reduce health care costs for tens of millions of households: the savings range from more than $9,000 for a low-income household of four which receives payment assistance to $1,260 for a higher-income family making more than $90,000 that does not receive such assistance. Such savings are targeted at the very groups that need the most help. The inclusion of a public option in the Exchange, in which a relatively meager 6 million individuals are expected to enroll, will create competition with the Exchange’s private insurance plans driving costs even lower.

At the same time as it helps reduce health care costs for middle-class and aspiring middle-class Americans, the Affordable Health Care for America Act greatly improves health coverage by enacting strict requirements for the type of insurance that is offered. The bill prevents the nightmare scenarios of being denied coverage just because you have become sick or being forced to pay higher premiums because of a preexisting condition (in many policies, being a woman is effectively considered a preexisting condition). Eventually, it will define minimum benefits and cost limits that must be included in all health insurance plans, not just ones offered by the Health Insurance Exchange. And it will ensure that health insurers do not use premiums to pay for administrative costs and profits, instead of medical care. In this way, affordable and adequate health insurance that protects individuals and their families during both normal medical events and extraordinary medical hardship will be available to all aspiring middle-class and middle-class households.

Finally, the Act contains cost-cutting strategies to reduce the impact of health care costs on the budget deficit and additional measures to reorient health care delivery to quality, preventive care and away from costly and unnecessary overtreatment. Eliminating overpayments to Medicare Advantage, the ill-advised, Bush-era privatization of a chunk of Medicare, and empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate Medicare drug prices are effective ways to cut costs without weakening coverage. The tax surcharge on the wealthiest Americans, who benefited most from the economic growth of the 2000s and who are weathering the current economic downturn best, is a sensible method of increasing access to and the affordability of health insurance coverage in a fiscally responsible manner.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Health Reform,” from the Kaiser Family Foundation

“House Health Reform Bill Expands Coverage And Lowers Health Cost Growth, While Reducing Deficits,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

“Competitive Health Care: A Public Health Insurance Plan That Delivers Market Discipline,” from the Center for American Progress Action Fund

“The Treatment,” A Health Care Reform Blog from The New Republic

Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009

hmoroz — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:57:51 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Effective date of most provisions of the originally introduced version of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act: 3 months after passage

Effective date of most provisions of the version of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act that was signed into law: 9 months to 15 months after passage

Percentage of credit cards from the 12 largest banks that use practices deemed “unfair or deceptive” by the Federal Reserve: 100

Median advertised range of APRs for credit cards issued in December of 2008: 9.99%-15.99%

Median advertised range of APRs for credit cards issued in July of 2009, after the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act’s passage: 12.24%-17.99%

Maximum annual fee instituted by Citigroup in August that is imposed when a cardholder does not spend enough: $90

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act was a major step forward for consumer protections. The legislation ended the most insidious practices employed by credit card companies, protecting consumers from policies that can keep them mired in debt despite their best efforts to dig themselves out. However, the Act delayed implementation of these vital consumer protections for over a year in some cases, allowing card companies to raise interest rates, increase fees, and jack up minimum payments in the meantime. The Pew Safe Credit Cards Project finds that many credit card companies worsened their treatment of consumers in anticipation of the legislation. The Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act would ensure that these unfair and deceptive practices end immediately. Although the bill will not aid consumers whose interest rates and fees have been raised in recent months, the Act will prevent card companies from continuing to intensify the financial strain on households already struggling to make ends meet.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“H.R. 2382, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009 and H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act,” Hearing of the House Financial Services Committee

“Still Waiting: ‘Unfair or Deceptive’ Credit Card Practices Continue as Americans Wait for New Reforms to Take Effect,” from Pew Safe Credit Cards Project

“Modernizing Consumer Protection in the Financial Regulatory System: Strengthening Credit Card Protections,” from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:09:36 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:05:27 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009

hmoroz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:52:31 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009

hmoroz — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:47:37 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of cases of illness, hospitalizations, and deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that are caused each year by foodborne disease: 76 million; 325,000; 5,000

Percentage of consumers that said they were confident that the food supply was safer than a year ago after the January 2009 salmonella outbreak: 22.5

Average frequency of the Food and Drug Administration’s inspection of food establishments: Once every ten years

Number of countries the typical American meal includes food from: 6

Number of Americans and Canadians sickened and killed, respectively, by Salmonella-contaminated peanut products from the Peanut Corporation of America between September 2008 and March 2009: 691; 9

Estimated annual cost in medical expenses, lost productivity, and pain and suffering due to foodborne pathogens: $357 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. The outdated, overstretched, and underfunded food safety system continues to put middle-class consumers at risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 76 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. The Food and Drug Administrations is responsible for overseeing 80 percent of the food supply. Yet, much of this food never passes under the watchful eye of an inspector. While Department of Agriculture inspectors visit meat and poultry processing plants at least once a day, FDA inspectors average an inspection visit to a food facility once every ten years. Further, the current food safety system is reactive: current regulations mean that the agency springs into action only after an outbreak of illness. Recently, 691 individuals were sickened and 9 died from an outbreak of Salmonella in contaminated peanut products while health officials struggled to determine the source of the hazardous food.

The Food Safety Enhancement Act would modernize the food safety system to protect middle-class Americans who are increasingly concerned about the integrity of the food they eat. More frequent inspections – at least once every 18 months for high-risk facilities – and expanded access to records during these inspections would keep food plants honest, while the requirement for each facility to develop a food safety plan would shift the emphasis of the food safety system to preventing outbreaks of foodborne illness. More detailed descriptions of product origin will assist efforts to stem outbreaks and the FDA’s mandatory recall authority will be a vital tool to ensure that the public is protected if an outbreak does occur. The collection of registration fees adds an important source of funding for the expanded oversight activities. The Food Safety Enhancement Act will help make middle-class families safer and reinspire confidence in the food safety system.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Testimony of Carol L. Tucker-Foreman of the Consumer Federation of America on the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, before the Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

“Food Safety,” from the Center for Science in the Public Interest

“Food,” from Consumers Union

Consumers

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Amendment #534 (Mortgage “Cramdown” Amendment) to Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Wall Street Accountability and Consumer Protection Act

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Exist Act

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009