Congressman Sander Levin

Health Care

Our current health care system is broken. 45 million Americans lack health insurance, including 9 million children. Millions more have insurance that is inadequate to meet their health needs and prevent financial hardship. The U.S. spends more than twice as much per person on health care, yet lags behind other nations in terms of the quality of health care we receive. For example, the U.S. ranks 29th out of 37 counties in terms of infant mortality – equal to Solvakia and Poland, and below Cuba and Hungary. One-third of Americans have experienced a medical error according to one study, including receiving the wrong medication or incorrect treatment. This rate is the highest among eight industrialized countries, and accounts for up to 100,000 unnecessary deaths in the U.S. per year.

The deficiencies of the current health care system are also hurting American companies, burdening them with ever-increasing costs, and harming their ability to compete in global markets. In these tough economic times, updating our health care system is critical to restoring our long-term economic strength and competitiveness.

For all of these reasons, and - most of all - because it is the right thing to do, it is time for reform.

I believe Congress must pass health care reform that ensures:

Universality – Health care is a basic human need. I believe we must implement a health care system that ensures that every American has health care.

Portability – Many people now work for multiple companies during their lifetime, with periods of school, self-employment, or part-time work mixed in. It is not right that when people lose their jobs, they should also lose their health care, making the pains of unemployment even more acute. We must establish a system that allows people to take their insurance with them no matter where they work or attend school.

Transparency – Patients deserve information about the quality and track records of physicians and hospitals. Only with sufficient data can health care consumers make informed choices about their providers.

Choice – Different health care plans are better for different people. I believe we must establish a system in which every person is guaranteed insurance that ensures adequate preventive medicine, disease management, mental health care, and catastrophic coverage. However, I also believe that people should have the right to choose between different plans and decide which one is right for them. If people want to keep the plans they have today, they should be able to.

Affordability – Reducing costs and ensuring affordability are critical pieces of health care reform. We must ensure that health insurance is affordable for individuals and families. And we must change our incentive structure to ensure that we’re paying providers for high-quality care, not only the volume of services they offer.

I look forward to working with President-elect Obama, my colleagues in Congress, and the American people to revamp our health care system to achieve these aims.

• Children's Health Care
• Women's Health
• Health Research
• Lowering the cost of Prescription Drugs
• Mental Health