Congresswoman Gwen Moore was elected to represent Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District in 2004, making her the first African American elected to Congress from the State of Wisconsin. She is a member of the esteemed House Ways and Means Committee, which is the oldest committee in the United States Congress and has jurisdiction over the Social Security system, Medicare, the Foster Care System, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Unemployment Insurance, and all taxation, tariffs, and revenue-raising measures. She serves on the Social Security, Select Revenue Measures, and Worker and Family Support Subcommittees. She serves on the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. She is also a member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. She serves on the Research and Technology Subcommittee and the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee.
I was honored to be a part of history and to have served in the Congress that passed comprehensive health care reform. Through the Affordable Care Act, we extended health care coverage to 30 million uninsured Americans while at the same time lowering health care costs overall and cutting our nation's deficit. The Affordable Care Act puts Americans and small businesses – not health insurance companies – in charge of their health care decisions.
Implementation of our health insurance reforms will be phased in until state insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.
Many benefits are already available, including:
Small businesses can receive tax credits to help afford insurance for their employees;
Seniors can receive assistance affording prescription drugs;
Health plans must cover preventive health care such as mammograms and colonoscopies without charging a deductible or co-pay;
Insurance companies have been banned from canceling coverage when someone gets too sick;
Children with pre-existing conditions can get affordable insurance;
Insurance companies can’t place arbitrary yearly or lifetime benefit caps; and
Children can stay on their parents’ insurance until their 26th birthdays.
Although we have made great progress by passing our health care reform law, there is still work to be done. I am a strong supporter of research that will help us find ways to prevent, treat, and cure a range of illnesses, such as breast cancer, kidney disease, and diabetes. I am a champion for protecting women’s access to a full range of reproductive health services. Finally, I believe it should be among our highest priorities to make sure that affordable, quality health coverage is available to all Americans, including those who rely on Medicaid and Medicare for their care