Issue Position: Making Quality Health Care Affordable

Issue Position

"Quality, affordable medical care should be every American's right." - Nita Lowey

Nita Lowey has worked to cut the high cost of health care, invest in pioneering biomedical research, provide seniors with a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, and ensure that doctors, not insurance companies, make decisions about patient care.

Making Health Insurance Affordable and Accessible

Nita Lowey believes that all Americans should have access to affordable health insurance. She vigorously supported the creation and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, which has made health care available to millions of children in working families, and Nita wrote legislation to make pregnant women eligible for coverage under the same program. Nita has also fought to make health insurance portable, so that workers will not lose coverage when changing jobs, and to expand access for Americans with pre-existing medical conditions.

Protecting Patients' Rights

Nita Lowey believes that doctors and patients should make decisions about medical care, not insurance companies. Nita supports a real Patients' Bill of Rights that would protect the doctor-patient relationship, ensure full discussion of medical options, establish a workable appeals process following insurance company decisions, ensure access to medical specialists, and permit patients to hold insurance companies legally accountable for inappropriate denial of care.

Cutting The Cost of Prescription Drugs

The high cost of prescription drugs has become an overwhelming burden for all New Yorkers, especially senior citizens, some of whom are forced to choose between medication and food. Nita Lowey has consistently fought for a comprehensive, affordable prescription drug benefit under Medicare. Like most seniors in our region, Nita strongly opposed the Republican-sponsored Medicare prescription drug bill which does little to reduce the cost of prescription medication and leaves millions of seniors without useful coverage. For all Americans, Nita has also fought to reduce the price of medication by expanding access to generic drugs and by facilitating the importation of low-cost pharmaceuticals from Canada.

Protecting A Woman's Right to Choose

Nita Lowey believes that the difficult decision to end a pregnancy should be made by women with their families, not dictated by the government. As the former Chair of the House Pro-Choice Task Force, Nita has been a champion of reproductive freedom, opposing efforts to roll back a women's right to choose, supporting comprehensive family planning efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies, encouraging adoption, and working to ensure that reproductive health care is available to all women.

Promoting Food Safety

Food allergens pose a life-threatening risk to many Americans. Unfortunately, food labels often fail to contain clear information about the presence of allergens. That is why Nita Lowey took the lead to author legislation that requires ingredients to be listed in simple language. Lowey's Food Allergy Labeling and Consumer Protection Act will ensure that consumers with severe allergies know with certainty when common allergens are contained in a product. The legislation, which was signed into law on August 2, 2004, was called "an all too rare example...if bipartisan cooperation to serve the public good," by The New York Times.

Helping Families Afford Long-Term Care

As America's population ages, providing for adequate long-term care will be a growing national challenge. Nita Lowey supports legislation to provide a tax deduction for the cost of long-term care insurance and additional tax cuts for families paying for long-term care. As the author of the Social Security Caregiver Credit Act, Nita is fighting to protect the Social Security benefits of those who take time off from work to provide care to a family member.

Encouraging Biomedical Research

Medical science holds the promise of better and longer lives for millions of Americans. Nita Lowey has been the Congress' leading advocate for doubling the federal biomedical research budget. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Nita has secured record increases in funding for breast cancer research and sponsored legislation to examine the environmental causes of breast cancer. Nita has worked successfully to advance research efforts related to diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. Nita has also fought to expand access to screenings and clinical trials.

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