Rising health care costs and access to quality care are two of the biggest challenges facing middle class Americans, threatening their economic security and the wellbeing of their families. As governor of Indiana, Senator Bayh’s efforts to fundamentally reform Medicaid, provide greater access to quality care, and ensure more community-based care opportunities for children with disabilities and Hoosier seniors, became role models for the nation. Since coming to the Senate, he has continued to fight for access to quality, affordable long-term care for seniors; pushed for life-saving cancer research; passed legislation to strengthen the quality of care available to children; and fought to give small business more opportunities to provide affordable health care coverage for their employees.

Making Health Care Affordable

Small businesses are the most dynamic part of the nation’s economy, spurring innovation and growth that creates good-paying jobs for middle class Americans. However, rising health care costs threaten to stifle this growth for many small businesses. To help small businesses, which employ half of Indiana’s workforce, meet this challenge, Senator Bayh has authored legislation to help make health care a more affordable option for small business owners and their employees. Specifically, he has proposed providing a 50 percent tax credit to small businesses that offer health benefits and the opportunity for small businesses to join state-run purchasing pools to increase their bargaining power with health insurance companies, giving them greater leverage to provide better coverage for their employees at lower rates.

Championing Care for Seniors

As a member of the Special Committee on Aging, Senator Bayh has worked to make sure seniors have access to affordable, quality long-term care. Legislation authored by Senator Bayh, that was signed into law, protects hard-working Americans from losing their savings to pay for long-term care and gives states the flexibility to allow more seniors and children with disabilities to be cared for at home instead of in institutions. Modeled after the successful program Senator Bayh initiated as governmaor of Indiana, the legislation also removes federal barriers that prevented other states from following Indiana’s lead and increases the number of companies offering policies and providing individuals with more choices and more benefits.

Senator Bayh cosponsored the Nursing Home Resident Protection Amendment to prevent nursing homes from evicting residents who rely on Medicaid to cover their expenses. He also introduced the Medicare Prescription Emergency Guarantee Act to protect seniors from being forced to leave their pharmacies empty handed as a result of confusion, lost enrollments and other problems connected with the private drug plan. He has also fought to create a $3,000 tax credit to help ease the financial burden families incur when they are responsible for caring for a loved one at home.

Providing Quality Care for Children

Senator Bayh has been a long-time supporter of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which provides much-needed coverage for more than 133,000 Hoosier children. When red tape put Indiana at risk of losing $150 million in extra SCHIP funding it had earned as a result of its high success rates in enrolling children, Senator Bayh worked to re-secure the funds and provide coverage to thousands more children across the state. He has also led the fight to raise the level of care available to the nation’s children, introducing the Children’s Health Care Quality Act last year. The legislation, which was included in the Congress’ reauthorization of the SCHIP program, would give the Health and Human Services Administration the authority and resources to develop and test innovative and effective children’s health care practices.

Fighting Cancer and Finding a Cure

Senator Bayh has been a long-time supporter of research and innovation that would lead to a cure for cancer. Last year, Senator Bayh introduced the Breast Cancer Research and Screening Act, which called for tripling the National Institutes for Health’s (NIH) breast cancer research funding to address the fact that despite receiving NIH approval, as many as 75 percent of promising research projects go unfunded each year. Additionally, his legislation would increase colorectal and breast cancer screening rates by removing Medicare co-pays, while extending the window of opportunity for new Medicare beneficiaries to receive cancer screenings.

Protecting Against a Flu Outbreak

In 2005, when parents across the country and in Indiana stood in block-long lines to get flu vaccines for their children, Senator Bayh took action to make sure that a shortage of that kind would never happen again. He introduced the Flu Protection Act, which called on the federal government to work with vaccine manufacturers to guarantee a sufficient supply of vaccines and provide funding for research and development to discover better vaccines and faster production methods. Additionally, Senator Bayh recognized that the outbreak exposed the vulnerability of our nation to pandemic avian flu, commonly known as bird flu. To address this potential threat, his legislation proposed recommendations to make sure the country is prepared for a possible avian or other flu outbreak. Finally, Senator Bayh has called on the Bush administration to develop a plan to stockpile avian flu vaccines to meet the recommended levels an outbreak would require.

Preventing Discrimination Based on Genetic Information

Senator Bayh has fought to protect Americans from having their genetic information used against them by insurance companies or employers. He supported the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act to prohibit health insurance companies from using genetic information to deny insurance coverage or increase premiums for people who may be predisposed to certain diseases. The legislation also forbids companies from requesting or requiring genetic tests and prohibits companies from making hiring or firing decisions based on an employee’s genetic information.