Senator Coons joins summit for healthy lungs

Senator Coons attended a Regional Patient Advocacy Leaders Summit hosted by the American Lung Association last week.  This summit gave staff, volunteers and leaders in patient advocacy the opportunity to learn about issues on the horizon. The summit also included networking and discussions of new avenues for advocacy.

Senator Coons addressed about 70 regional patient advocates. He talked about the bipartisan Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act of 2011, a bill he introduced to increase the awareness, understanding and research being done to find the root cause – and a cure – for Pulmonary Fibrosis. He also discussed the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which has already helped 6,000 young Delawareans get insurance.

For more on Chris’ work on health care, click here.

Senator Coons marks grants to support healthy community

On Thursday, Senator Coons joined Senator Carper and Congressman Carney at the Delaware Children’s Museum in Wilmington to announce two federal grants awarded to Nemours for a combined total of nearly $6 million to help build healthier communities. 

 “These grants will serve tens of thousands of Delawareans, helping them live happier, healthier lives,” Chris said. In his remarks, he reiterated the significant impact that these grants will have on preventative care and early intervention, touching upon how it could enact change in areas such as the struggle with obesity and chronic diseases in young children.

For more on Chris’ work on health care, click here.

Senator Coons participates in roundtable discussion on women’s health care

U.S. Senator Chris Coons participated in a roundtable discussion of ideas for protecting women’s access to contraception and family planning services on Wednesday. The meeting was hosted by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee and featured more than a dozen leaders in women’s health, including Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Nancy Kennan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America; and Alethea Smith-Withers, board chair of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

“All women should have the right to affordable, accessible reproductive health care,” Chris said. “Sadly, many Republicans in Congress insist on creating harmful barriers to keep women from accessing much-needed services. Today’s meeting allowed for a productive discussion with leaders of women’s health care on how we can move forward to continue to advocate for these critical family planning services.”

The hour-long discussion focused on recent destructive initiatives taken by Republicans to block women from accessing basic reproductive health care.  In particular, Cecile Richards and Nancy Keenan discussed the important role the Affordable Care Act has played in improving and expanding access to important health services for women, including requiring health insurance plans to cover preventive services such as mammograms and cervical cancer screenings with no deductible or co-pay.

Click here to learn more about Chris’ work to improve America’s health care.

Video: Senator Coons speaks at Supreme Court

Senator Coons spoke briefly at a press conference on the steps of the Supreme Court on Thursday, praising the Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. Watch:

Statement from Senator Coons on Supreme Court decision on Affordable Care Act

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Coons released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act on Thursday:

“Today’s historic decision by the Supreme Court is an important moment for our country. The people of Delaware today have renewed confidence that they cannot be denied health care coverage because of pre-existing conditions. That is a victory for the people of the United States.

“The Supreme Court has reaffirmed today its appropriate role in our constitutional order and continued its longstanding practice of deciding cases based on the law and not the prevailing politics of the day. Something as complex and important as health care reform should rise or fall based on an election, not a Court decision.

“The politics of health care reform have always paled in comparison to the people impacted by it. The good news is that every American will now beguaranteed the opportunity to buy health insurance, regardless of pre-existing conditions. Parents will be able to have their sons and daughters covered on their plans until they are 26. No American will be denied coverage because of a cap on lifetime benefits, and insurance companies will no longer be able toautomatically charge women higher premiums. Preventative care will come without a co-pay or deductible, and even if your employer doesn’t offer health insurance, you’ll be able to buy affordable health coverage. These are all very good things for our country and our communities.

“It is now time for the politics of health care reform — and the politicians who have tried to undo the progress our country has made — to move on. It has been considered, debated, signed into law, and now affirmed by the Supreme Court.”

Senator Coons calls for reauthorization of FDA

Senator Coons went to the floor on Monday to discuss the importance of the reauthorization of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fees and other critical programs.

"Most of us don't think about the FDA on a regular basis," Senator Coons said. "In fact, we rarely think about where our medicines come from, the scientists who invented them, the investments required to develop them and the innovative, cutting-edge new treatments that are essential to keeping Americans healthy and safe or the regulators who make sure these pharmaceuticals, devices and treatments work as they're supposed to. But when the moment comes we face a health crisis and our doctors prescribe us essential medications we want those pharmaceuticals available right away and we want them to work as promised."

Senator Coons encourages blood donation

Senator Coons’ office recently came together to create an employee team for the Blood Bank of Delmarva. It is important to Chris and his staff that Delawareans are aware of the Blood Bank’s life- changing and life-saving work.

The Blood Bank of Delmarva is a non-profit community service organization that provides blood and blood products to 16 hospitals on the Delmarva Peninsula. In the past year, over 50,000 people provided blood donations for over 20,000 recipients.

This is a time when the nation’s blood supply is often experiencing critical shortages. Many people are unaware that much of today’s medical care depends on a steady supply of blood from healthy donors. About one out of every seven people entering a hospital needs blood.

“Blood donation is about saving lives,” said Chris.  “A member of my staff recently shared with me that her father is here today because of the generosity of blood donors--a sudden illness required that he receive 11 pints of blood.  He was fortunate that blood was available at the time of his emergency because that is not always the case.  In order to keep saving lives, we must continue to encourage others to donate.” 

One pint of blood, the average donation, can save up to three people’s lives. If only an additional one percent of all Americans gave blood, blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future.

Healthy adults who are at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds may donate one pint of blood every two months. The process takes one hour and four easy steps: medical history, quick physical, give blood and snacks.

The Blood Bank of Delmarva operates four blood donor centers throughout Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, as well as 32 established mobile donation locations. Check with your company, school, place of worship, or civic organization to see if they host blood drives.

For more information about the Blood Bank, creating a team, or to schedule an appointment to give blood visit: www.delmarvablood.org

Affordable Care Act protects 320,000 Delawareans from lifetime limits on care

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, approximately 320,000 Delawareans will no longer face lifetime limits on their private health insurance, according to new data release by the White House on Monday. Nationally, 105 million Americans are protected.

This lifetime limit ban is just one of many new consumer protections created by the law that was passed by Congress on June 25, 2010. Annual dollar limits on coverage are being phased out, and 54 million Americans received new coverage of prevention without cost sharing in 2011.

Senator Coons is a firm believer that all Americans deserve accessible, affordable health care.

Click here to learn more about Senator Coons’ work on health care.

Click here to learn more about the state-by-state breakdown of the lifetime limits ban.  

Senator Coons calls on Komen Foundation to restore Planned Parenthood funding

Senator Coons joined 25 of his Senate colleagues on Thursday in penning a letter to Nancy Brinker, Founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, urging her to reconsider her organization’s decision to stop funding cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, a trusted provider of health care for women and men.

Twenty percent of all women in the U.S. have visited a Planned Parenthood health center, where more than 90 percent of the services provided are primary and preventative including wellness exams and cancers screenings.

“It would be tragic if any woman — let alone thousands of women — lost access to these potentially life-saving screenings because of a politically motivated attack,” the Senators wrote. 

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation funds have saved countless lives. In 2011 alone, grants from the foundation provided Planned Parenthood with roughly $650,000 in funding for breast cancer prevention, screening, and education. Komen funding for Planned Parenthood has provided nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams and resulted in 6,400 referrals for mammograms.

The letter is below:

Reaffirming my commitment to women’s health

Thirty-nine years ago, the United States Supreme Court recognized a woman’s right to make her own decisions about starting a family and protecting her body. As we mark today’s anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we must recommit ourselves to defending against attempts to erode this fundamental constitutional principle and deny women their reproductive rights.

In my first year in the Senate, I often witnessed the tenacious commitment of those who prioritize rolling back reproductive rights above everything else. For some members of Congress, the anti-choice agenda has even trumped job creation.

In April, some members of the House nearly caused the federal government to shut down in their effort to defund Title X, a program which dates back to 1970 and provides a range of critical health services to women across the country. In October, the House passed a bill that prohibits women from buying health insurance plans that cover abortion under the Affordable Care Act and makes it legal for hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women with life-threatening conditions.  I will do everything I can to make sure this draconian bill is not passed by the Senate.

While we have been largely able to fend off anti-choice attacks, we must remain vigilant in the preservation of reproductive rights and ensure all women in this country have access to the highest-quality health care available.

Today, on the 39th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, I pledge to continue fighting for accessible and affordable reproductive care for Delawareans and all Americans.