Letter from Senator Feingold- "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,"

Dear Mr. Schaefer,



Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding health care. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

On November 21, 2009, the Senate voted to allow debate to begin on the Senate health care bill, "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," by a vote of 60 to 39. I voted in favor of allowing debate on the health care bill to begin because this allows the Senate to address the number one issue raised at my annual listening sessions - health care.



The bill before the Senate is not perfect, but it contains some good reforms while expanding coverage to more than 30 million Americans who currently go without insurance. I am pleased that the bill will decrease the deficit by $130 billion over the next ten years, and by another $650 billion in the ten years following that. And, while it is not as strong as I would have preferred, I support the inclusion of a public health insurance option, as well as provisions rewarding physicians for the quality of care provided rather than the quantity of care, and ending the denial of coverage due to preexisting conditions. I look forward to the opportunity to strengthen the bill during Senate consideration. I will evaluate the bill after the amending process is complete, and decide at that point whether I can support this legislation, or whether it is health reform in name only. You can find the text of the bill at http://democrats.senate.gov/reform/patient-protection-affordable-care-act.pdf.



As the Senate debates the health care reform bill in the month of December, I want to continue hearing what Wisconsinites think of the bill, the amendments, and the whole process. On my website, you will find a form that allows you to leave your thoughts, concerns or questions about specific issues that come up during the debate. The form is available at http://feingold.senate.gov/healthcarereform/.


Again, thank you for contacting me. I am committed to improving access to health care and making health care more affordable for the people of Wisconsin. You can learn more about my work on health care reform, including updates about my work relating to the Senate bill, at my website at http://feingold.senate.gov/healthreform.html. I look forward to hearing from you in the future