In this week's edition of e-news...
Murphy Urges West Penn and Highmark To Return To Negotiations
Rep. Murphy Announces 2012 Academy Nominations
Spotlight On SWPA Seniors
Fair Trade Agreements A High Priority For SWPA Manufacturers

Murphy Urges West Penn and Highmark To Return To Negotiations

Following today’s disappointing announcement that Highmark was pulling out of an agreement to enter a financial relationship with the West Penn Allegheny Health System, Congressman Tim Murphy released the following letter, urging both parties to return to negotiations immediately.

While the statutory authority related to this partnership rests with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Murphy cited the impact it will have on his constituents and said it is critical for patients, doctors, and employers to have choices in healthcare because a WAPHS bankruptcy would not only damage the region’s healthcare system, but cripple the local economy, cause significant layoffs, and hurt WAPHS retirees.  

John S. Isherwood
West Penn Allegheny Health System
30 Isabella Street
Suite 300
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Dr. William Winkenwerder, Jr.
Highmark Inc.
Fifth Avenue Place
120 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3099

Dear Mr. Isherwood and Dr. Winkenwerder:

I strongly urge both parties to return to negotiations immediately with the ultimate goal of completing the proposed affiliation between Highmark and the West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS). Having a stable and quality healthcare network is vitally important to the wellbeing of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s families and our region’s future prosperity.

Families want to be able to choose their doctor and choose their insurance plan. No one benefits when one hospital system or insurance carrier dominates the market. Competition is an important driver of keeping healthcare costs down and quality up. Patients benefit from being able to choose from the best hospitals and physicians, and employers benefit from different insurance carriers competing to keep premiums low.

I urge you to return to negotiations without delay. If I can be of assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Tim Murphy
Member of Congress

To share your thoughts with Congressman Murphy on the letter, please click here.

Rep. Murphy Announces 2012 Academy Nominations     
 
Each year Congressman Tim Murphy nominates up to ten outstanding students for vacancies available at the four service academies. This process is competitive and requires a student to display exemplary academic achievement and commitment to serving the community.

High school seniors interested in a congressional appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, Merchant Marines Academy, Military Academy at West Point, or the United States Naval Academy must submit a completed application by October 17, 2012. Additional information and application forms can be found here.

Seniors submitting a complete application are then interviewed by a panel of local military officials, which produces recommendations for appointments to Congressman Murphy.
 
Last week, the United States Naval Academy sports blog profiled Hempfield native Laura Gorinski and her experiences seeking a nomination from Congressman Murphy. The article, “Learning to Lead,” also highlighted her successes as a member of the Navy women’s swim team. Laura competed at the 2012 NCAA Championship and the Olympic Team Trials. Read the full article online here.
 
Congressman Murphy will host an annual academy information day next spring for 11th graders. The official date will be announced early next year. For additional questions about nominations to the service academies, please contact Elaine Klofta in Rep. Murphy’s Mt. Lebanon office at (412) 344-5583.

To share your thoughts with Congressman Murphy on academy nominations, please click here.
 
Spotlight On SWPA Seniors

In recognition of his ‘pro-senior’ voting record, Congressman Murphy was presented the Guardian of Seniors’ Rights award last Friday by the 60 Plus Association, a national nonpartisan senior citizen group.

The Guardian Award is presented to Democrats and Republicans based on their “senior friendly” voting records.

60 Plus Chairman and founder Jim Martin was personally on hand to present the award to Rep. Murphy, adding, “Congressman Murphy has proven to be one of the staunchest allies seniors have in Washington.  He can be counted on to preserve Social Security and Medicare.”

60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin presents Murphy with the Guardian of Seniors' Rights Award.

This session of Congress, Murphy has been moving several bills meant to strengthen and protect Medicare and Social Security retirees have spent a lifetime earning. Rep. Murphy discussed those efforts on Monday during a seniors’ wellness class in Westmoreland County.

Rep. Murphy gave an update on his bipartisan Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act (SMART Act, H.R. 1063). The SMART Act was recently passed unanimously by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Under a complicated federal law called “Medicare Secondary Payer,” the Medicare Trust Fund must recover any medical bills that should have been paid by a private insurance company as part of a legal settlement. But Medicare’s bureaucracy is failing to carry out this law effectively and putting the burden on seniors instead of the insurance companies. This convoluted process puts legal settlements at risk and is causing some seniors to lose their Medicare coverage or have their Social Security checks garnished.

Murphy’s bill fixes these problems so no senior loses their health insurance because of bureaucratic error, and recoups billions of dollars owed by insurance companies to the taxpayers. With Medicare headed toward bankruptcy in five years, Murphy’s bill will shore up the Trust Fund. Industry experts have testified the SMART Act could recover between $1 billion and $4 billion annually, while saving the Medicare agency countless hours of staff work pursuing claims of little or no value. The SMART Act is now awaiting floor consideration in the House, where Murphy anticipates support from members on both sides of the aisle.

Later in the week, Rep. Murphy attended the annual Washington County Senior Expo in North Franklin where he heard from a number of seniors who talked about how important access to lower cost generic medications are to maintaining overall health. The cost of prescription drugs have jumped double digits, which is why Congressman Murphy authored  legislation that was recently signed into law to bring more life-saving affordable generic medications to market. Murphy’s legislation clears a backlog of 2,800 generic applications awaiting FDA review and factory inspection. His bill provides the resources needed for the agency to approve generic medications in a timely manner and closes a loophole to ensure foreign factories are inspected.

Rep. Murphy hears from seniors about the positive impact of his bill to lower the cost of generic medications.

Other attendees thanked Rep. Murphy for introducing the Social Security and Medicare Protection Act, which would block Congress and the Administration from raiding the Trust Funds to spend on earmarks and other programs. The bill currently awaits further action before the House Ways and Means Committee.

To share your thoughts with Congressman Murphy on Medicare and Social Security, please click here.

Fair Trade Agreements A High Priority For SWPA Manufacturers

Roughly one-quarter of global economic output occurs in the United States, and while our country is still the world’s largest generator of wealth, American manufacturers are finding it increasingly critical to have access to developing markets. Local companies want to participate in global trade, but agreements between the US and foreign nations must ensure the competition is fair.

Too many businesses have been destroyed by the allure of China. Businesses owned by the government in Beijing are known to steal patents and reserve-engineer products in exchange for access to the Chinese economy.

On Thursday, Congressman Murphy met with local business owners at Universal Electric in Cecil to discuss those challenges. Representatives were also on-hand from United Fabricating in Claysville, Penn United Technologies in Butler, and other local firms. They shared their views on trade and thanked Rep. Murphy for his work in fighting against Chinese currency manipulation.

As chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, Murphy has fought against unfair trade practices that hurt local steel plants and factories. He co-authored the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (HR 639). The bill holds China accountable for its illegal currency manipulation which results in Chinese exporters getting a 20-40 price advantage against US-made goods. Murphy worked to get the bill through the full House in 2010.

Murphy speaks to Universal Electric employees about the importance of SWPA's manufacturing sector.

During Thursday’s meeting, the business owners outlined principles for any new trade agreement. New deals should promote a favorable balance of trade. Currently, the US buys nearly $560 billion more worth of products than we sell. To pay for these goods, US consumers must borrow money from foreign creditors, which weakens our ability to exert influence over global affairs. To learn more about these trade agreement principles, please click here.

Congress is likely to soon consider legislation that would give “Permanent Normal Trading Relations” to Russia. The bill, which is being pushed by the White House, gives Russian businesses tariff-free access to the American market in exchange for US access to Russia’s economy. The White House says legislation is needed since Russia has joined the World Trade Organization, which is an international body meant to resolve trade disputes. Critics warn that since President Clinton and Congress granted PNTR to China in 2000, US manufacturers have been on the losing end of the deal.

Earlier in the week, Murphy toured the Hennemuth Metal Fabricators facility in Oakdale where he discussed business growth in the 18th district with employees. Hennemuth manufactures sheet metal ductwork. Employees at Hennemuth expressed concern with the increase in excessive government regulations and the impact tax uncertainty has had on their business hiring and expansion. Murphy has voted to stop new costly regulations that restrict job growth, and also voted to stop a tax hike by supporting a full extension of current tax rates.

To learn more about Rep. Murphy’s Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, click here.
 
To share your thoughts with Congressman Murphy on the pending trade agreement with Russia and the trade agreement principles, please click here.