Health Insurance

According to recent federal statistics, 44.8 million Americans, including 9 million children, had no health insurance in 2005.  That is more than 15% of the American population.

Congressman Lynch believes that every American should have access to quality healthcare, regardless of their employment status or income level.  For this reason, Congressman Lynch remains supportive of initiatives and programs designed to increase the accessibility of health insurance, including reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program as well as local Community Health Center funding. 

Medicare

In December of 2003, President Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which established a new prescription drug benefit plan for Medicare Part D recipients. This program, which became effective on January 1, 2006, prohibited the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating prescription drug prices with drug manufacturers and, therefore, from attaining the lowest possible drug prices for Americans covered under Medicare Part D. Congressman Lynch voted in opposition to the bill, believing that by forbidding the Medicare program to negotiate directly with drug companies, the Republican Congress put profits ahead of Medicare beneficiaries. 

Although opposed to the new Medicare Part D program, Congressman Lynch considers it his responsibility to thoroughly inform eligible constituents about this program and the complicated enrollment process.  For this reason, Congressman Lynch has held 21 Medicare Part D informational forums throughout the Ninth Congressional District since November 2005. 

In addition, in the first 100 hours of the new Democratic Congress, Congressman Lynch joined his colleagues in passing The Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 (H.R. 4).  In contrast to the Medicare reform bill passed under Republican Leadership, this bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices under the Medicare drug plan.  H.R. 4 drew bipartisan support, passing the House by a final vote of 255 to 170.  Furthermore, during the 110th Congress, Congressman Lynch will continue to work towards strengthening the Medicare program so that our seniors have access to reliable healthcare at the lowest cost.