While pharmaceuticals have helped millions of Americans live longer and better lives, the cost of modern medicines has skyrocketed in recent years. Many Americans are forced to take chances with their health, simply because they cannot afford the costs of modern medicines. This is unacceptable. Medicine should never be a luxury item. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to drive down the prices of prescription drugs and make them affordable for the millions of Americans who currently take them. This includes our work to create a Medicare prescription drug benefit for our seniors, as well as efforts to bring down the costs of prescription drugs across the board, so that all Americans can enjoy the better quality of life that these medications bring.
One way we are working to address this issue is through the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act, which I supported. This new law establishes a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. The new Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D) is providing more Americans with access to affordable prescription drugs. Almost a year into the new benefit, more than 38 million of our nation’s seniors are receiving help with their prescription costs, including 72% of First District seniors. This new benefit is providing much needed help to some of the poorest Medicare recipients, with many paying little to no premium for coverage and a small co-payment of $2-$6 for prescriptions. On average, seniors are saving $1,200 on the cost of their prescription drugs. Further, some beneficiaries will see savings of up to 87 percent through their lower-cost plan if they switch to generics.
I have also been a strong advocate for the expansion of community health centers because they fill a much-needed gap in the country’s health safety net for low- and middle-income households. While I was Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I held a hearing examining ways to maximize the effectiveness of federal grant dollars used for community health services, whether Medicaid and Medicare can play a role in helping community health centers better respond to growing health challenges, and ways to better incorporate community health centers as part of America’s medical and health networks. I was honored that the National Association of Community Health Centers recognized me as their 2005 & 2006 Distinguished Health Champion for my efforts to improve health care access to medically underserved populations.
I also support efforts to help small businesses provide health insurance to their employees. Employers with ten or fewer employees have a difficult time finding affordable insurance. I support legislation to allow small businesses to group together with other small businesses for the purpose of purchasing health insurance. This will lower the cost of health insurance for employers and employees and enable many small businesses to offer health insurance for the first time.
In addition, I support legislation to reform our medical malpractice laws to stop frivolous lawsuits and ensure we continue to have access to physicians. As you know, the increasing cost of malpractice insurance as a result of frivolous lawsuits encourages many doctors to pursue defensive medicine to guard against such lawsuits. This practice also contributes to the rise in health care costs. The rising cost of medical malpractice insurance is having a devastating effect on Kentucky because many doctors are relocating to states that have enacted medical malpractice reform.
Related Press Releases:
