Working Hard to Ensure the Implementation of the Health Care Law Benefits You

I wanted to update you on what I was doing in Sacramento last week to ensure that the new health care law is implemented efficiently and effectively.

On Thursday morning, I convened my Health Care Working Group, which is comprised of about thirty health care providers. We discussed how major hospitals, providers and community clinics could benefit from the newly enacted Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. This program will provide generous incentive payments to eligible medical professionals and hospitals who adopt the use of EHRs, resulting in more efficient delivery of care.

On Friday, I met with constituents and spoke at a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies forum in Sacramento that focused on the impact health reform will have on California. There, I joined state officials and health care industry leaders to discuss the health care law and the work to be done to continue implementation of provisions within the law.

Congresswoman Matsui speaks at a forum on the effects of the health care law for California.

I also met with California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who is working hard to help make sure that health insurance companies' rate increases are fair to consumers. We know that insurance companiesand#39; risk levels have gone up year after year as a result of a lack of preventive care, and people waiting out of necessity to see the doctor because of high costs. But we also know that when the health care law and the state exchanges are fully implemented - and the risk pool is expanded to cover 97 percent of Americans - those costs will be curved. At a time when family budgets are extremely tight, families simply cannot afford unfair increases in premiums.

I know that implementing the health care law is going to take a combined effort at all levels of government, and I will continue having these discussions and helping to make sure that every Sacramentan sees the maximum benefits possible. For more information on the health care law, please visit www.matsui.house.gov/healthcare.