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September 16, 2007
Easing the health care crisis this fall
 
By Congressman Gene Green
 
Washington, DC - Health care in America is riddled with problems. For those who can’t afford insurance, a curable or treatable illness can become a chronic condition – and insurance is more expensive than ever. Emergency rooms have become clogged with people, many of them without insurance, who would be better served by a personal physician. Small businesses can scarcely afford to provide health insurance for their employees, much less for their dependents.

 

This week our office is introducing a community health collaboratives program, the most recent part of our ongoing effort to improve health care in Texas and across the country. It will help solve many difficult health issues in a way all involved parties can agree to.

 

The Community Coalitions for Access and Quality Improvement Act would help 600 communities across the nation implement and manage proven programs to reduce health care costs. Specifically, this bill would give communities the resources to:

 

  • Let people know about health programs they can participate in, and help them enroll
  • Reduce waits at crowded emergency rooms by coordinating referrals to specialty care and mental health services
  • Support Community Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics by organizing medical, mental health, and dental providers who care for the uninsured
  • Maximize access to free and reduced-price prescription drugs
  • Help small employers continue to offer health insurance
  • Help people on low and fixed incomes to stay healthy

 

This bill builds on the Healthy Community Access Program (HCAP), which provided 6.2 million people with badly needed health care and saved them a total of $2 billion dollars. One local project funded by HCAP is Harris County’s Ask Your Nurse Program. Individuals who have trouble accessing medical care should call a nurse at 713 663-CALL.

 

Our office has also been working to improve trauma care. Traumatic injury is the leading cause of death for people under the age of 44. Trauma and emergency medical care are vital to response efforts in the face of natural disasters, terrorist threats and chemical spills, in addition to the everyday accidents that clog hospitals around the country. Our Trauma Care Systems Planning and Development Act, which provides grants to integrate and coordinate regional trauma care, was signed into law on May 3, 2007. 

 

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has also been a major priority in our office. The Health Subcommittee, on which I sit, crafted legislation to reauthorize this lifesaving program.  Because we’ve seen how Texas law drops children off the SCHIP rolls at an alarming rate, we authored a provision of the House SCHIP Reauthorization bill that mandates 12-month continuous eligibility for these kids, instead of Texas’ current 6-month period.  Short eligibility periods result in fewer enrolled children and more preventable health problems. We’ve also tried to streamline the application process and provide states with outreach and enrollment incentives to counter Texas’s significant enrollment barriers and devastating cuts to the Texas CHIP program.

 

This fall, the Health Subcommittee will consider a Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) bill we wrote to reauthorize the Health Centers program. The program provides access to high quality health care in communities where there aren’t many medical facilities. These health centers are a critical part of America’s health care safety net, helping 16 million people nationwide who might not otherwise have access to a doctor. When a health center is designated “federally qualified,” it can utilize federal funding to provide primary and preventive care to the uninsured. Our goal is to serve 30 million Americans by 2015. We have also worked locally to secure public and private funding Harris County health centers, and to increase the number of centers and the quality of service. The Pasadena Clinic on Pasadena Blvd. is a Federally Qualified Health Center.

 

As many as 80 percent of children who fail a vision screening don’t get the follow-up care they need. Left untreated, vision disorders can seriously affect a child’s development and can lead to life-long vision impairment. That’s why I introduced the Vision Care for Kids Act, which the Health Subcommittee approved in July. Lack of health insurance is a glaring barrier to appropriate vision care in this country, which is precisely why this bill is necessary. It will provide proper follow-up eye exams and treatment for uninsured children who have been identified through screenings as being at high-risk for vision disorders. The bill is designed to spend scarce health care dollars in the wisest manner possible by placing priority on children under the age of nine. A portion of the grant funds may also be used to increase education and awareness of vision disorders, so that the warning signs can be recognized and any problems can be detected in a timely fashion. 

 

Our goal is for this legislation to improve the health and quality of life for residents of east Harris County, Texas, and across the country. These bills are based on proven methods, and they’re designed to provide the most value possible. As a whole, they will reduce the cost of health care for everyone by increasing efficiency. And, as these plans move through the legislative process, we welcome your input on health care issues. Feel free to contact me at any of our offices, or through our web site at http://www.house.gov/green/.  

 

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