Hoyer to BSU students: Here’s how the new health care bill will affect you

Published on: Wednesday, April 07, 2010

By Alexandra Murray

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., spoke to a crowd of about 50 students and faculty at Bowie State University March 31 to explain how the recently signed health care bill will affect American young people. After nine months of debate and strong partisan divide, Congress finally passed a health care reform bill that Hoyer said “expands and improves our health care system.” Included in the bill are the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which will increase the maximum Pell Grant to $5,555 and to $5,975 by 2017, and an immediate expansion of health insurance. “If you’re a young adult, you can stay on your parent’s insurance until your 26th birthday,” said Hoyer, adding that it may take a maximum of six months for companies to actually figure out how this will work. For many post-college students this is a relief, especially with the unemployment rate at 10.4 percent as of February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now young adults working for companies that do not provide insurance, such as many food service and bartending jobs, can regain the benefits of their parents’ plan. In addition to expanding the age range for health insurance coverage, the bill also prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions, said Hoyer to a nodding audience. By 2014, all the components of the bill should be enacted, which Hoyer explained will include free preventive care, such as routine check-ups and seasonal flu shots. The bill will eventually give health care to an estimated 32 million people who currently do not have it, Hoyer said, emphasizing the expansion of community health care centers to make this happen.A student pointed out that with this expansion comes a heightened need for doctors in 2014, which Hoyer said is anticipated, adding that the bill will create more jobs in the health care provider sector.Secretary of Higher Education for Maryland, James E. Lyons, attended the event, providing kind words for the congressman. “It’s always a pleasure to come back home. The congressman has been a friend to Bowie for a long time and we need to let him know that he always has a home here,” said Lyons, former president of Bowie State. Though Hoyer was enthusiastic about the legislation, he was also apologetic. “I’m sorry we don’t have the public option, that would have helped with competition,” he said, referring to the fact that the United States is still the only industrialized country without universal health coverage.  While some are disappointed about the public option being cut, the students at Bowie were generally excited and happy to see the congressman, including junior Crystal Gillespie. “I’m really glad he came. He answered the question I had about the health care bill, so it was informative.”In response to those opposed to the bill, many of whom are tea party members, Hoyer said, “don’t believe this government-run health care stuff people are saying.”The congressman made a point to say that both initiatives are already paid for and would not further increase the deficit, but added that college-age students should be focused on avoiding debt, which the student aid legislation will help them do. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act invests $2 billion into institutions, specifically minority universities and community colleges, said Hoyer. “We want to get you healthy. We want to make you wealthy,” he added.