Ranking Member Elijah E.

Cummings House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 2471 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 December 16, 2013 Dear Representative Cummings, My name is Gene Lantz, and I am the President of the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans. We are a non-profit, grassroots organization representing over 121,500 retired Texans. I write to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today to provide an official statement on behalf of my organization for the December 16, 2013 field hearing in Richardson, Texas entitled, Obamacare Implementation: Who are the Navigators. We take exception to this hearing that attempts to discredit the law by focusing on a few snafus of the implementation process rather than focusing on Texas decision to not participate in the Medicaid expansion. This decision will deny coverage to between 1.4 and 1.7 million eligible uninsured Texans and harm rural hospitals and inner-city health care facilities that heavily depend on Medicaid dollars. While the initial implementation of the Affordable Care Act may have gotten off to a rocky start, it does not take away from the essence of the law. The Affordable Care Act was designed to provide insurance coverage for 34 million uninsured Americans, including 4,888,642 million uninsured Texans; to ensure adequate coverage for the underinsured and curb insurance company abuses. The new health care law significantly improves conditions for millions of Texans who had chronic illnesses or preexisting conditions that made them ineligible for medical insurance and for others with inadequate or limited insurance coverage that did not cover their basic needs. The measure also provides protections to seniors under the Medicare program by providing coverage for preventive services free of copayments or deductibles and drug assistance for those who fall in the doughnut hole. Since inception of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Texas seniors have already saved $421M on their prescriptions. In 2012 alone, 1,795,711 Texas seniors received free, life-saving tests for chronic diseases. The law is also responsible for instituting delivery system reforms that not only helped reduce health costs but also improve care. These reforms are in large part responsible for reducing the

rate of growth in beneficiary spending, which has helped strengthen the Medicare program and extend its solvency by 10 years. Retirees worry about their children and grandchildren and are happy that the law allows young adults under 26 to stay on their parents health insurance. Seniors are glad to see working families finally protected from the greed and outrageous business practices of insurance companies through the Affordable Care Act. Repealing the Affordable Care Act, as some have called for, is not the answer. Repealing the law would not only deny individuals health insurance, but it would increase premiums; result in more medical bankruptcies; and raise costs to local, state and the federal government for uncompensated care. The Affordable Care Act is not only good for the health of our communities, but also stimulates our economy. We stand behind this law and oppose all efforts to dismantle the program. Sincerely,

Gene Lantz President