What's New

On March 22, 2010, President Barack Obama brought a hundred-year struggle for affordable health care to a close when he signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

But as federal government and states are formulating the regulations and state laws that will put health reform into action, health insurers are trying their same old tricks.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has called on state insurance regulators to scrutinize any insurance increases by Wellpoint, the nation’s largest insurer, after that company was forced to roll back poorly justified 39 percent rate hikes in California.  U.S. PIRG is keeping the pressure on to make sure that consumers see the full benefit of the new law.

How You Can Help

Thank Your Representative for Health Reform!

On March 22nd, 219 Members of the House of Representatives helped make health reform the law of the land. Everyone of them now faces the strong enmity of special interests. Tell them they did the right thing.

For years, Americans have paid more and more but got less and less when it came to health care. It's happened because America’s health care system is structured for the benefit of drug industry, insurance company, and medical specialty profits, not for consumers and patients.

With your help, CoPIRG won federal health reform legislation that can, if properly implemented, begin to deliver the increased security and relief from rising costs that Americans need.

But our work is far from complete.

The same special interests who opposed strong reform are now working to weaken and cripple its implementation.

CoPIRG will be there to ensure reform succeeds at:

• Stopping insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions.

• Trimming costly red tape and overhead through simplified insurance forms, information technology and insurer-efficiency standards.

• Incentivizing preventive and high-quality care from your provider that keeps you well, not just endless tests, procedures and emergency room visits after you get sick.

• Giving every patient and doctor the most up-to-date information on which treatments and medicines work best.

• Allowing Americans, who don't have quality employer-provided coverage, to enroll in the kind of plans Members of Congress have through a new health insurance exchange.