Health Care
"Making health care affordable for all Americans is one of the most important challenges facing this country."
— Congressman Bart Gordon
Since 2000, median family incomes have dropped nearly $1,000 annually while health care premiums for working-class Americans have increased on average 78 percent. More than 47 million people do not have health insurance in the United States, and more than 900,000 Americans die each year from preventable illnesses. All this, in spite of the fact that the United States spends more on health care than any other nation in the world – more than $2 trillion each year. The nation’s health care system is riddled with problems from inflated drug prices and excessive administrative costs to overcrowded emergency rooms. It is clear that the system is in desperate need of repair.
Reducing the Cost of Prescription Drugs
Americans pay more for prescription drugs than citizens of any other developed country in the world. Prescription drugs are significantly cheaper in Canada, Britain and other European countries where drug safety standards are similar to those in the United States. In the 110th Congress, Bart strongly supported the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, which would allow pharmacies and drug wholesalers to import drugs from countries with high drug safety standards. Bart was also an original supporter of the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act. This legislation would allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors receiving Medicare, the same way that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is allowed to negotiate lower drug prices for veterans. Both pieces of legislation would result in reduced drug prices for Americans.
Cutting Wasteful Administrative Costs
Health care is one of the few sectors in the United States that is still paper-based. It is estimated that if the nation’s health care system adopted electronic technologies like electronic medical records, prescribing and billing systems, $81 billion would be saved annually. Electronic health care records would also help eliminate duplicate tests and procedures, reduce medical errors, and allow nurses and doctors to obtain patients’ medical records more easily. In 2007, Bart authored the Healthcare Information Technology Enterprise Integration Act, which would modernize the nation’s health care system by creating a national system of secure, interoperable electronic health care records. The legislation would also ensure that different health information technology (IT) systems can exchange data in a secure manner that protects the privacy of individual health records.
Improving Access and Care in Emergency Rooms
According to a 2006 report from the Institute of Medicine, our nation’s hospital emergency rooms are overcrowded, underfunded, and understaffed, resulting in longer waiting times for even the sickest people. If emergency rooms cannot currently handle the daily influx of patients, there would be catastrophic consequences in the wake of a national disaster. In the 110th Congress, Bart authored the Emergency Medical Services Act, which would provide additional funding to hospital emergency room departments. The legislation also would create a commission to identify the primary factors that are impeding the delivery of emergency medical services. In 2006, the American College of Emergency Physicians graded each state’s emergency care system. Tennessee’s system was ranked the 14th worst in the country, and received an overall “C-” grade. Not a single state received an “A” grade. Bart’s legislation would improve the dire situation in Tennessee and around the country.
Putting Children First
There are over nine million uninsured children in the United States, many of whom are low income children who are not receiving health care coverage from the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) because it lacks funding. In 2007, Bart supported efforts to fully fund SCHIP. This would have allowed states to provide health insurance to every child who qualifies for the program, reducing the number of uninsured children in the United States to less than 5 percent. In Tennessee alone, fully funding SCHIP will cover an additional 54,600 children. Bart is committed to seeing that SCHIP is fully funded and decreasing the number of uninsured children in America.
- » 09.04.2008
Federal funding to create MTSU center to improve youth physical fitness - » 08.06.2008
Federal grant helps UCDD to educate Middle Tennessee seniors about Medicare - » 07.29.2008
Social Security Calculator Eases Retirement Planning - » 06.04.2008
Gordon Says Health IT Needed To Reduce Costs And Errors - » 05.14.2008
Gordon Pushes Youth Suicide Prevention During Mental Health Month
