HELP Subcommittee Seeks Healthcare Solutions

As Chairman of the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee, I am committed to finding health care solutions for the over 46 million Americans still living without health insurance.  I recently held a hearing to find real solutions to this problem.  I believe that Congress and states need to work together now more than ever to provide a solution.  Whether we establish a national healthcare model or provide states with the necessary flexibility to implement smart, effective health care initiatives or devise a plan that improves coordination of federal and state health care initiatives, the time to do so is now.  This problem has been ignored for far too long.  The time for action is now.

Click here to watch a video of the hearing.

My Subcommittee’s hearing was entitled “Health Care Reform: Recommendations to Improve Coordination of Federal and State Initiatives.”   I heard testimony from several health care policy experts regarding various states’ innovative ideas to address the problem of the uninsured and the challenges federal law presents.  In addition, the Subcommittee heard from several Members of Congress regarding a proposal that would establish a commission to provide certain waivers and grants to states who want to increase health care.  Click here to watch a video or read more about the hearing.

While the United States spends more than $1.6 trillion on health care annually, over 15% of our Gross Domestic Product, we nevertheless remain the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee health care for all of our citizens.  As Chairman of the HELP Subcommittee, I remain committed to finding real solutions to this dire and unnecessary problem. 

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