As The State Of The Union Approaches, Brown Calls On President To Invest In Health Care

Press Release

As The State Of The Union Approaches, Brown Calls On President To Invest In Health Care

In advance of the president's State of the Union address, U.S. Senator Brown (D-OH) today encouraged the president to invest in Ohio's middle class and their health care needs. With more than 46 million people without health insurance in the U.S. today, 1.2 million of whom are in Ohio, and with health care costs on the rise, Brown challenged the Bush administration to insure more children, lower prescription costs, and improve health care quality.

"Ohio families are losing health coverage, Ohio children are going without needed care, and Ohio businesses are faltering under the weight of rising health care costs. The situation is deteriorating, and it's not going to resolve itself," Brown said.

Brown is focused on creating a health care system that invests in life-saving research, emphasizes cost-saving prevention, and closes the coverage gaps that leave Americans dependent on emergency rooms rather than their family doctor.

In his commitment to increase access to care for all Americans, Brown advocated in 2007 for the president and Congress to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to help Ohio cover more children. Brown continues to fight the president's executive order limiting Ohio's right to expand access to children's coverage, and he is working on legislation to make coverage more affordable for small businesses and the self-employed. Brown is also working to raise the profile of other critical facets of health care, including access to cost-effective dental care, mental health care, and substance abuse services.

As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Brown has fought to lower prescription drug costs by expanding access to generic medicines, allowing American pharmacies to import lower cost medicines from Canada, and enabling the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate bulk discounts on drug prices. He also pressed for a stronger Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that has the resources needed to ensure the safety and effectiveness of approved medications.

Brown is working to increase the efficiency of our health care system by applying information technology to reduce medical errors and red tape. He has also introduced legislation to combat deadly and costly emerging public health threats such as MRSA and drug-resistant tuberculosis. And he is pushing for a greater emphasis on cost-effectiveness in health care to make sure we're spending scarce resources wisely. Improving quality also means dealing with pervasive ethnic and socioeconomic disparities that persist throughout the health care system.

"The U.S. pays more than any other industrialized country for health care, yet we rank lower than other countries across a range of health indicators. Inclusiveness, efficiency, and quality are targets we can and should meet. I hope the president works with Congress on all three goals," Brown said.

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