Health Reform, “Must Take Time To Get It Right”

July 24, 2009, WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress is currently considering three pieces of legislation aimed at reforming America’s health care insurance system.  The bills take different approaches to reducing health care costs for those with insurance and extending health care coverage to millions of Americans currently without insurance.  U.S. Representative Bart Gordon is working closely with his colleagues to ensure that the reform bill passed by Congress meets the intended goals and provides necessary fixes to the country’s health insurance system without raising our federal budget deficit.

“People in Tennessee and around the country are spending more on health care than on food or housing.  More than 45 million uninsured Americans are getting their health care in emergency rooms, which drives costs up for those with insurance,” explained Gordon.  “If we don’t reform health care, insurance premiums will continue to rise and push our country further into debt. However, we must slow down and get it done right.  It is too important of an issue.” 

Health care costs have doubled between 1996 and 2006.  Currently, one out of every six dollars is spent on health care in the United States.  In Tennessee alone, average family insurance premiums have increased by 77% since 2000.

“Health care insurance reform should focus on finding every penny of savings within our current system, as well as eliminate the waste and inefficiencies that have been shown to amount to hundreds of billions of dollars each year,” said Gordon.  “Our goal should be to reduce health care costs and ensure affordable coverage is available to individuals, families and small businesses.”

Gordon, accompanied by seven other conservative Democrats, recently laid out concerns with the current legislation to the President.  During the meeting, Gordon emphasized the importance of passing a bill that does not increase the deficit, hurt families or small businesses, or create a single-payer, government-run health insurance system.

“Health insurance reform is needed, but we must take time to get it right,” reiterated Gordon.  “I am working to see that the bill we ultimately pass is a bipartisan bill that can get through both the House and Senate.”