It's important to me to protect benefits for seniors, including Social Security and Medicare. As a Member of Congress I have fought to make both programs more solvent, stable, and efficient.

I believe Social Security is one of the most successful poverty reduction programs in United States history and I am critical of efforts to undermine or privatize it.

The Concord Coalition, a non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, has compiled a Congressional Scorecard in recognition of Members of Congress who have made tough choices necessary to balance the budget and put programs like Social Security and Medicare on a sustainable, long-term track. I am proud to be listed on their honor roll for my support of these priorities.

"Doc Fix"

I continue to support a permanent fix to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) reimbursement system that guarantees access to care for Medicare and TRICARE recipients. Temporary fixes are expensive and deny the need to redesign the reimbursement system to promote quality of care provided over the quantity of services. The current "doc fix" is set to expire in late in 2010.

Health Insurance Reform Law Helps Washington State Seniors

With my support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed into law, becoming the most significant step in decades to lower costs, expand coverage and allow consumers to continue to make the health care choices that work best for them.

Closes the "Donut Hole"

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as the health insurance reform bill, takes significant steps to reduce the financial burden prescriptions drugs currently have on our seniors.

On June 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) started mailing $250 rebate checks to seniors who have fallen into the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole". HHS estimates that more than 4 million seniors will ultimately receive rebate checks. Starting in 2011, rebate checks will be replaced by a discount on brand-name prescription drugs for seniors whose expenses fall within the doughnut hole. The discount will gradually phase up from 50-75% by 2020, effectively eliminating the donut hole.

Long-Term Solvency for Medicare

The health insurance reform legislation that passed into law will extend the solvency of Medicare by at least a decade, by preventing waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid and eliminating copayments for preventive services. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected that reforms to the Medicare program could yield $500 billion in savings over the next decade.

Geographic Disparity Agreement

I was appointed by Speaker Pelosi to be a lead negotiator in striking an agreement with HHS, to finally address Washington state's long standing Medicare reimbursement problem. For years, our efficient health care providers have been penalized under an archaic Medicare reimbursement system that rewards the quantity of services provided rather than the quality of care provided. Working with my colleagues in Congress, I secured new money for Washington state's doctors and hospitals to close the reimbursement gap, and in the long term, crafted an agreement to move our reimbursement system to one that rewards efficient quality care - saving taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

Medicare Advantage under the Health Insurance Reform Law

Due to the historic geographic disparity in reimbursement rates to physicians in Washington, Medicare Advantage is absolutely essential to Washington's seniors who otherwise might lack options for care. To incentivize efficient and effective care, I fought for a provision in PPACA that will allow high-quality Medicare Advantage plans that improve their enrollees' health to receive an increase in payment. Additionally, plans that provide care for less than the maximum payment rate get to keep a portion of the difference in cost. Furthermore, PPACA contains language that explicitly affirms the fact that "benefits guaranteed to Medicare Advantage plan participants will not be reduced or eliminated."

Additionally, under PPACA, Medicare Advantage plans would be required to spend at least 85 percent of their revenue on clinical services and activities that improve the quality of care for patients. In addition, under PPACA, Medicare Advantage plans will no longer be able to charge enrollees higher copayments than traditional Medicare for certain services.

Resources

Finally, with all the new benefits and health insurance reforms being put in place because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which I was proud to vote for, it is critical you have all the correct information. Here are a couple of websites you can visit for additional information and can help answer any question you may have:

Click here to visit Medicare's website

Click here to visit Social Security's website

Click here to visit AARP's website