Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

Issue Position: Healthcare

Ensuring that all Ohioans have access to quality and affordable health care is one of my top priorities in Congress. We must work to address the needs of the nearly 46 million Americans who lack health insurance including 1.3 million uninsured Ohioans. It is also essential that Congress work to strengthen the Medicare system; provide health insurance to low income children; and make healthcare providers more accessible in our rural communities.

Strengthening Healthcare for Seniors

At a time when the majority of our nation's Baby Boomers are just three years from receiving Medicare benefits, it is critical that we maintain our commitment to Medicare and to our seniors' health. Earlier this year, the President submitted his Fiscal Year 2009 budget which cut Medicare by $556 billion over the next 10 years. This attack on our seniors is unacceptable and I rejected the Presidents cuts to this vital program and I supported the House Budget Resolution which would provide $1.9 trillion in badly need funds for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The rise in the cost of prescription drugs is another problem facing our nation's seniors. Prescription drug spending is rising faster than all other health expenses and is projected to continue rising throughout the next decade. Over the next ten years, America's seniors will spend trillions of dollars on prescription drugs. That is why I supported the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act to give the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the power to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, I have cosponsored H.R. 380, the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, which would allow drug wholesalers and pharmacists to legally re-import American-made drugs from abroad, where they are often sold for considerably less than in the U.S.

Securing the Future for our Children

A recent Census report shows that nearly 6-percent of Ohio's children lack health insurance. Everyone deserves quality healthcare in this country. That includes our children. That is why I have repeatedly supported the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which would preserve coverage for nearly 6 million children currently covered under SCHIP, including 216,495 children in Ohio. In addition it would have expanded coverage to an additional 4 million children nationwide who currently don't have healthcare. Many of our working families who can't afford health insurance depend on this critical program. In fact, children in rural areas like ours rely on SCHIP or Medicaid for their care more than kids elsewhere do. Unfortunately, this important bill was vetoed twice by President Bush. I will continue to work to see passage of this important bill - there is no acceptable reason to not insure our children.

Military and Veterans' Health Care

We have an obligation to care for and honor America's servicemen and women. With the VA expected to treat 5.8 million patients in the coming year—including more than 260,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans—Congress has made it a priority to fund health care and benefits that they were promised and that they deserve. That is why I supported the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, which improves outpatient medical care for wounded service members at military health care facilities and improves the transition of wounded service members from the Armed Forces to the VA system.

Improving Access to Healthcare in our Rural Communities

Rural practices and patients deserve a better partner in the federal government when it comes to the health of rural America. When I came to Congress, I joined the Rural Health Care Coalition, a bi-partisan coalition committed to advancing rural priorities in health care policy in Congress. In addition, I cosponsored the Health Care Access and Rural Equity (H-CARE) Act of 2007. This comprehensive bill makes several improvements to our nation's health care infrastructure including; authorizing the health information technology grants for rural practitioners, requiring prompt payment to rural pharmacies by Medicare prescription drug plans; raising Rural Health Clinic reimbursements to more appropriately cover costs and establishing a Rural Heath Quality Advisory Commission.

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