Healthcare
The skyrocketing cost of health care is one of the greatest challenges we face as a country. Bringing down health care costs is critical for families, businesses and our long-term economic growth.
In the 111th Congress, we have already made progress on expanding access to quality health care. In February 2009, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law legislation to provide health care to 11 million children across the country. The Children’s Health Insurance Program bill, or CHIP, ensures that nearly 3,400 kids in the 2nd Congressional District, and millions more across the county, who haven’t been covered will now get the care they need. Moreover, it will save money in the long-run by reducing expensive emergency room visits as primary care.
More action is needed. Since 2001, health care premiums have grown four times faster than wages, and an additional nine million Americans have become uninsured. Many of our neighbors who have health care are just a pink slip away from losing coverage. And while Americans are spending more money per-person on health care than anywhere else in the world, we are not seeing the results we deserve from that investment.
I am working in Congress to pass comprehensive health care reform that works for families and businesses. As a starting point for health care reform, I support the following principles:
- We need to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse in government health programs. If we want greater accountability and responsibility, we must ensure that people aren’t overcharged for prescription drugs, or discriminated against for pre-existing conditions. If we want to bring down skyrocketing costs, we need to invest in health information technology to improve quality, reform the way we pay our medical providers and invest in prevention.
- If we want to cover all Americans, we cannot make the mistake of trying to fix what isn’t broken. If people have insurance and doctors they like, they should be able to keep them.
- I will work to ensure that Washington state physicians and hospitals are reimbursed fairly. Currently Washington state medical providers are paid less than their counterparts in other areas of the country for providing efficient and cost-effective health care.
