While pharmaceuticals have helped millions of Americans live longer and better lives, the cost of modern medicines has skyrocketed in recent years. Many Americans are forced to take chances with their health, simply because they cannot afford the costs of medicines. This is unacceptable. Medicine should never be a luxury item. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to drive down the prices of prescription drugs and make them affordable for the millions of Americans who currently take them. This includes our work to create a Medicare prescription drug benefit for our seniors, as well as efforts to bring down the costs of prescription drugs across the board, so that all Americans can enjoy the better quality of life that these medications bring.
One way I have worked to address this issue is through the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act, which I supported. This law established a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. The Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D) is providing more Americans with access to affordable prescription drugs. Over two years into the program, over 25 million of our nation’s seniors are receiving help with their prescription costs.This benefit is providing much needed help to some of the poorest Medicare recipients, with many paying little to no premium for coverage and a small co-payment of $2-$6 for prescriptions. On average, seniors are saving $1,200 on the cost of their prescription drugs. This legislation also created Health Savings Accounts, with the goal of giving Americans more choice and greater flexibility with their health insurance.
I have also been a strong advocate for the expansion of community health centers because they fill a much-needed gap in the country’s health safety net for low- and middle-income households. While I was Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I held a hearing examining ways to maximize the effectiveness of federal grant dollars used for community health services, whether Medicaid and Medicare can play a role in helping community health centers better respond to growing health challenges, and ways to better incorporate community health centers as part of America’s medical and health networks. For the past four years I have been honored by the National Association of Community Health Centers as a “Distinguished Health Champion” for my efforts to improve health care access to medically underserved populations.
I also support efforts to help small businesses provide health insurance to their employees. Many of these businesses have a difficult time finding affordable insurance. I support legislation to allow small businesses to group together with other small businesses for the purpose of purchasing health insurance. This will lower the cost of health insurance for employers and employees and enable many small businesses to offer health insurance for the first time.
In addition, I support legislation to reform our medical malpractice laws to stop frivolous lawsuits and ensure we continue to have access to physicians. The increasing cost of malpractice insurance as a result of frivolous lawsuits spurs many doctors to pursue defensive medicine to guard against such lawsuits. This practice also contributes to the rise in health care costs. The rising cost of medical malpractice insurance is having a devastating effect on Kentucky, especially in border areas, where many doctors are relocating to neighboring states because they have enacted medical malpractice reform. Medical malpractice reform is also a priority and I am optimistic that we will address this next Congress.
Finally, there are several proposals ranging from vouchers to health insurance tax credits which will help people with no health insurance purchase a plan. The goal is to ensure more Americans who lack health insurance will have a basic level of care. I look forward to exploring these and other proposals during the next session of Congress in our continuing efforts to ensure all Americans have access to affordable health care.
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