U.S. REP. RON BARBER DONATES HEALTH INSURANCE SUBSIDY TO CHARITY

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Ron Barber and his wife Nancy today donated to three Southern Arizona charities money that the federal government spent to subsidize the congressman's health insurance premiums.

"Each month during 2014, I will donate the full amount of the Affordable Care Act government subsidy to Southern Arizona charities" Barber said today. "Members of Congress should play by the same rules as Americans across the United States."

For their February contributions, the Barbers donated to organizations that provide healthcare to Southern Arizonans. In January, they made donations to nonprofits that serve girls and women. Each month the Barbers will split their donation among three organizations serving the congressman's Southern Arizona district.

The February donation will be split equally among:

* El Rio Community Health Center, which provides accessible and affordable healthcare primarily to underserved populations in the Tucson area. The El Rio staffs serve more than 900 people per day, 76 percent of whom live at or below the federal poverty level. Dedicated to serving all populations including the underrepresented and uninsured, El Rio has become one of the largest non-profit, community health centers in the United States. The Barbers designated their contribution to the birthing center.

* United Community Health Center, which provides primary and preventive health care to the rural population of southern Arizona and is open to all regardless of their ability to pay. United has eight health centers providing care to more than 14,132 patients and filling the critical gaps in health care serving the working poor, the uninsured, the medically underserved and many high-risk and vulnerable populations.

* Chiracahua Community Health Center, which provides quality, efficient healthcare to all in Cochise County regardless of the individual's ability to pay. Chiracahua has clinics in Douglas, Bisbee and Elfrida as well as mobile medical and dental clinics.

Under a provision in the Affordable Care Act, beginning Jan. 1, 2014, members of Congress must obtain their health insurance through the federal health exchange. Barber will make monthly donations to Southern Arizona charities in the amount of $948.14 - the amount of the government subsidy to Barber's health insurance.

Barber last year voted against the health insurance employer subsidy for members of Congress, stating that the taxpayers should not subsidize his health insurance.

During the 16-day federal government shutdown in October, Barber stood with Southern Arizonans who were harmed and donated his congressional pay to Southern Arizona charities.

The Washington Post today checked up on members of Congress who said they would donate their salary during the shutdown to see if they actually did so. The Post confirmed that Barber kept his promise by dividing up $7,627.20 among 48 separate charities and wrote that "Nobody had a more elaborate giving program" than Barber.

Barber has taken numerous steps to fix problems with the Affordable Care Act - to improve it and keep promises that were made to all Americans, including:

* This month, a portion of the health care law that led some Arizonans to erroneously choose an insurance plan that didn't meet their needs was quickly changed after Barber called on top federal officials to correct the problem.

* Also this month, Barber persuaded his colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security to direct the Department of Homeland Security to beef up security for the healthcare.gov website.

* That follows up on Barber's introduction last month of the bipartisan Cyber Awareness and Recovery Enhancement (CARE) Act. The CARE Act would require the Department of Homeland Security to take the lead in developing cybersecurity standards for the healthcare.gov website. Those standards must be risk-based and performance-based and developed by DHS in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services.

* On Nov. 15, Barber voted for the Keep Your Health Plan Act to allow people to keep their health insurance plans.

* Barber introduced the Helping Families and Seniors Save on Health Care Act after the issue was brought to him by the Green Valley Council. The bill will amend the Affordable Care Act to prevent out-of-pocket medical costs from rising - especially for senior citizens.

Barber was not in Congress in March 2010 when the Affordable Care Act was voted on, but has long since said that it is not perfect. Since he took office in June 2012, he has remained committed to supporting common-sense action to fix parts of the law that don't work for Southern Arizona small businesses, seniors and middle-class families.

Barber also is a co-sponsor of legislation to:

* Eliminate the tax on medical devices, which threatens jobs and innovation;

* Repeal the annual tax on health insurance to protect families and small businesses from premium hikes;

* Repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board that could reduce Medicare spending without congressional oversight and hurt access to care for seniors.

Read this original document at: http://barber.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-rep-ron-barber-donates-health-insurance-subsidy-to-charity