A Historic Win for Working People

“After a century of struggle and more than a year of heated debate, President Barack Obama has signed into law sweeping healthcare reform that represents a monumental victory for working people,” said APWU President William Burrus.

“Although we await Senate approval of a number of important changes that were passed by the House, the current law will immediately enact many desperately-needed improvements.”

The law will:

• Prohibit insurance companies from refusing to cover people with “pre-existing conditions;”
• Prevent insurers from denying coverage to people when they get sick; 
• Extend coverage to young adults up to the age of 26 on their parents insurance; 
• Eliminate life-time caps on coverage; 
• Close the “doughnut hole” in coverage for prescription drugs for people eligible for Medicare;
• Require insurers to offer free preventive care, and 
• Give tax credits to small businesses to help defray the costs associated with providing health insurance to employees.

“Working people have sought these reforms for decades and we are pleased we have finally reached this important milestone,” Burrus said. “The new law will lower healthcare costs, and is expected to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade.

“This bill is a testament to the ability of the American people to make broad, progressive change.”