Healthcare

Regardless of personal background or political leanings, we all share a concern for access to health care for ourselves and our families. I am committed to making health care more affordable and more accessible.

During the 111th Congress, access to quality, affordable and comprehensive health insurance and care have been front and center. During the discussions, I've worked with my colleagues to address some of the most pressing issues facing our community - including expanded access to health clinics, recruiting and retaining doctors to work in our inner cities, improved access to pre-natal care and services to reduce our infant mortality rate, and ways to reduce the financial impact to hospitals like The MED, now Regional One Health, that provide hundreds of millions in uncompensated care to people each year.

I voted in favor of Congress’ health care reform legislation, H.R. 3590, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , and H.R. 4872, The Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010. Both of these bills were signed into law by the President in 2010.

I led the bipartisan efforts of the Tennessee delegation to the U.S. House in 2015 to get a provision added to the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2) before it passed to guarantee $530 million over the next 10 years in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments to help Tennessee’s hospitals and community health centers recoup expenses incurred caring for those who cannot afford to pay. Tennessee is the only state in the nation that does not receive these DSH allotments automatically.

The reform laws also invest heavily in our Community Health Centers. The $11 billion investment in these important neighborhood resources will go a long way in ensuring that every American, not just those who can afford it, can receive quality care. It incentivizes prospective doctors to go into the field of primary care and encourages them to practice where we need them most—in urban areas.

Memphis supports a strong health network and first-class medical research facilities. I’m proud to represent the city’s fine medical institutions and help enable them to continue their high quality of patient care and their outstanding medical research. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Tennessee together have received millions of dollars in federal grants since I’ve been in office. I will continue to support their work and the other important research projects underway across our community. I will continue to stand up for legislation that supports Tennesseans who live with cancer, diabetes, and other life-altering diseases as well as the doctors and researchers who are fighting for cures.

Some of my legislative highlights in the 114th Congress include:

• I am a Co-Chair of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus.
• I helped secure a $2 billion increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health so boost research for cures for dreaded diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and strokes.
• I have helped block efforts in Congress to eliminate federal funding for women’s reproductive health services at Planned Parenthood.
• I am a cosponsor of the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act (H.R. 3061). This bill seeks to reduce the costs of prescription drugs by amending Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) to allow Health and Human Services to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers over the prices that may be charged for prescription drugs.
• I am a cosponsor of the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act of 2015 (H.R. 3261). This bill seeks to reduce the costs of prescription drugs by amending Medicare part D to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer one or more Medicare-operated prescription drug plan options. In doing so, CMS must: (1) negotiate prices with drug manufacturers; (2) establish an appeals process for denials of plan benefits; and (3) establish and apply a prescription drug formulary and formulary incentives.
• I am a cosponsor of the Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015 (H.R. 3513).  This bill does a number of things to reduce the costs of prescription drugs. It requires CMS to negotiate lower prices on behalf of beneficiaries for drugs covered under Medicare Part D. It accelerates closure of the Medicare Part D coverage gap known as the "donut hole." It requires drug manufacturers to issue rebates for prescription drugs dispensed to eligible low-income individuals under Medicare or Medicaid. It expands prescription drug rebates. It also amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries.
• I introduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act (H.R. 1538).  This bipartisan House companion to the Senate bill introduced by Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) (S. 683) allows states to set their own medical marijuana policies, reschedules marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II and recognize that marijuana has a legitimate medical use, allows for greater access to Charlotte’s Web cannabidiol (CBD) to help children with seizures like 3 year old Memphian Chloe Grauer who was denied this treatment and ultimately passed away, allows access to banking services for marijuana-related businesses that are operating pursuant to state law, and stops muzzling VA doctors by allowing them to recommend medical marijuana if they believe it is in the best interest of their patients.
• I am a cosponsor of the Affordability is Access Act (H.R.3163).  This bill clarifies that if the Food and Drug Administration approves an over-the-counter oral contraception, that insurance companies would still be required to cover it without a prescription.
• I am a cosponsor of the End Surprise Billing Act (H.R. 3770).  This bill prevents patients who go to an in-network doctor from being charged for unknowingly being also treated by an out-of-network provider such as when out-of-network doctor is consulted without the patient's consent.
• I am a cosponsor of the Charlotte’s Web Medical Access Act of 2015 (H.R. 1635).  This bill allows for medicinal use of a safe and effective, non-psychoactive cannabis oil known as cannabidiol (CBD) that has been shown to ease the suffering of children with epilepsy.

One of the most devastating and heart-breaking health problems confronting our community is the high rate of infant mortality across Memphis. The infant mortality rate in the United States is one of the highest of any industrialized nation in the world, and Memphis has one of the highest rates in the country. I have sponsored two pieces of legislation in the House that address our high infant mortality rate: H.Res. 260, a resolution supporting efforts to reduce infant mortality in the United States (passed on September 16, 2009) and H.R. 3470, the NEWBORN Act. The NEWBORN Act creates as grant program in 15 areas across the country with high infant mortality rates to fund research and outreach programs; this bill passed the House as a part of H.R. 3962 , the House’s first health care reform measure, but was not passed by the Senate. I am committed to seeing that the NEWBORN Act is passed and enacted as soon as possible so that we can begin the process of funding quality programs to reduce the rate of infant mortality in our nation’s most affected cities.

Another pressing health issue is the growing nursing shortage. This shortage is felt across the nation and Memphis, especially, has a critical need for more nurses. I have always supported nurses and I am proud to be a member of the Congressional Nursing Caucus, chaired by former nurse Rep. Lois Capps (CA-23). Through legislation, I am working to provide funds to expand nursing school facilities and increase their faculties, in order to admit and train more capable men and women who want to become nurses. I have cosponsored H.R. 2381 , the Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009; H.R. 2563 , the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act; and H.R. 2730 , the Student-to-School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act of 2009.

I have faithfully voted in favor of measures that aim to prevent severe cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates to our nation’s doctors. I believe that physicians deserve to be reimbursed fairly for the care they provide, and my voting record reflects this. I voted in favor of H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009, which reforms the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) system in Medicare’s physician fee schedule to eliminate the 21% cut in physician fees planned for 2011 and put physician payments on a sustainable path for the future. However, our physicians are still faced with impending reimbursement cuts. I am committed to ensuring that our nation’s health care providers can continue to treat their Medicare patients, and I will continue to vote in favor of legislation that avoids these cuts.

In addition to Medicare and Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has been a leading health issue facing Congress. Congress created CHIP in 1997 with broad bipartisan support. CHIP provides health coverage for children in working families with parents who either can’t afford insurance or hold jobs that lack health care benefits. I was proud to speak on the floor in support of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. I voted in favor of the CHIP Reauthorization Act in 2009. The program currently provides health insurance for more than 7 million children. This legislation protects coverage for those children and expands it to include an additional 4 million children who would otherwise be uninsured.

The House also passed the final version of Mental Health Parity/Addiction Equity in March of 2008. The bill is designed to end discrimination against patients seeking treatment for mental illnesses and addiction care by prohibiting insurers from imposing treatment or financial limitations when they offer mental health and addiction care that are more restrictive from those applied to medical and surgical services.