Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

There is no reason the wealthiest nation in the world should spend more on health care than any other nation yet receive second-rate results for our money. Nor should we dismantle Medicare and Medicaid -- critical programs that provide health care and economic security to seniors, persons with disabilities and the most vulnerable. Unless we control the cost of health care, we threaten our ability to finance other budget priorities, such as education and defense.

I am committed to improving our health care system and lowering the growth in health care costs. The Affordable Care Act, the health care reform law, is a critical step in this direction. In addition to extending Medicare's solvency, the Affordable Care Act expands health insurance coverage to the uninsured, uses refundable tax credits to help working families afford quality health care and reins in the worst insurance company abuses.

The Affordable Care Act also ends the practice of denying care to those with pre-existing conditions and allows seniors to purchase more affordable prescription drugs and receive free preventive care that will help reduce the cost and incidence of chronic diseases. Because of this legislation, forty-seven million American women now have access to preventive health services and small businesses will receive tax credits to help pay for the costs of coverage for their employees. (To enroll or receive more information on the Affordable Care Act, call 1-800-318-2596).

We must do more to do to lower costs while improving the quality of care through promoting preventive care, effectively using technology, paying our health care providers by patient outcomes and finding ways to reduce defensive medicine and lower malpractice premiums without taking rights away from injured people.

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