The Hill on Tuesday published a special section on health care reform that included opinion pieces from a number of lawmakers and HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt. Summaries appear below.
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.): "With a significant backlog" of disability claims for veterans who return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, "the system is in desperate need of an upgrade," Biden writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. "As a first step," the Department of Veterans Affairs secretary should "report to Congress a plan for the next 50 years that includes the following: resources needed for rehabilitation care, psychological care, nursing facilities for both full-time and respite care, housing needs and other areas under the jurisdiction of the VA," Biden writes. In addition, Congress should "provide a five-year window for veterans to receive an assessment of mental health needs and follow-up treatment by the VA" and "improve the capability of the Department of Defense to send electronic medical records to the VA to speed up the disability determination process," Biden writes (Biden, The Hill, 3/27).
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.): "Last month, we introduced a new version of the Personalized Health Information Act" that would "empower consumers to be better informed about their personal health while improving communication with their health care providers," Kennedy and Reichert write in an opinion piece in The Hill. The legislation would require the HHS secretary to "create a personal health record incentive program and trust fund to expedite the use of personal health records by Medicare beneficiaries and other patients and their health care providers," the lawmakers write. According to the lawmakers, the bill is important because "PHRs can give patients access to and control over their personal health data while ensuring that providers have all of the information they need at the point of care if the patient consents" (Kennedy/Reichert, The Hill, 3/27).
Mike Leavitt: "Some believe the federal government should insure everyone and use tax dollars to do it," and the "result would be long waits for treatment, lower quality and higher taxes," HHS Secretary Leavitt writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. According to Leavitt, the federal government "should continue to provide insurance for the poor, elderly and disabled through Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP," and the "private insurance market in each state must be organized so everyone else is offered a choice of basic plans at affordable prices." He adds, "A system of competition based on value requires four cornerstones: electronic medical records, quality measurement standards, a widely accepted means of comparing price and, finally, incentives that motivate everyone to increase quality and decrease cost" (Leavitt, The Hill, 3/27).
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.): The debate over the reauthorization of SCHIP has prompted concerns that the program "has exceeded its original mandate and now includes waivers permitting health care coverage for uninsured adults and family members -- including pregnant women and parents of eligible children" -- Rockefeller writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. However, "a child whose parent has health insurance coverage is more likely to receive health care and use preventative health services, such as dental exams and immunizations," Rockefeller writes, adding, "Conversely, having an uninsured parent not only decreases the likelihood that a child will have a well-child visit; it also decreases the likelihood that a child will see any medical provider at all." He concludes that Congress should reauthorize SCHIP and "ensure that it has the federal funding it needs to carry on its important mission" (Rockefeller, The Hill, 3/27).
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine): "It has been 10 years" since Congress first began a discussion on legislation that would ban discrimination by employers and health insurers based on the results of genetic tests, but lawmakers still have not passed such legislation, Snowe writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. According to Snowe, Congress should pass the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which would "prevent millions from being denied equity in employment and health coverage." Genetic information is "a vital key in both preventing and treating disease," but "few Americans will either participate in generic research or take a genetic test if the consequences place their health coverage or employment at risk," Snowe writes (Snowe, The Hill, 3/27).
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.): Several government commissions and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission "all released separate data showing that the government spends 12% more to provide care for beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans than traditional Medicare," Thompson writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. Thompson writes that "there should be one thing that every member in the House can agree on: When an insurance provider is receiving government payments for a service that is costing, on average, 12% more than traditional Medicare pays for the exact same service, we should at least review that payment policy." He adds, "Let's be clear: Democrats do not support the elimination of the Medicare Advantage program," but "it shouldn't be immune from scrutiny" (Thompson, The Hill, 3/27).
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.): One of "my chief priorities" this year "is to bring tobacco products under the authority of [FDA]," Waxman writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. According to Waxman, passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (HR 1108) would "impose meaningful oversight on the manufacture, promotion and sale" of tobacco products; "clamp down on tobacco industry targeting of children"; and "prohibit tobacco companies from making express or implied claims about reduced risks or safer products unless they submit extensive scientific evidence proving their claims to FDA." In addition, the legislation would "empower FDA to set standards for new and existing tobacco products," he writes (Waxman, The Hill, 3/27).
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