Health Care
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Access to quality, affordable health care is critical to the well being of America, today and in the future. Central to this is addressing the needs of the 46 million uninsured Americans, strengthening the Medicare system, providing health insurance to our low-income children, funding cutting-edge research into cures for diseases, and giving patients the clout to challenge the decisions of health insurers. Only through action on these critical issues can we meet the pressing health care concerns of our nation.
Medicare for Seniors
Congress is working to maintain Medicare’s commitment to insure our seniors and reverse harmful cuts proposed by the Bush Administration. After the President vetoed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, H.R. 6331, the House overrode the President's veto on July 15. This legislation prevents the pending 10 percent payment reduction for physicians in Medicare, enhances Medicare preventive and mental health benefits, improves and extends programs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, and extends expiring provisions for rural and other providers.
Speaker Pelosi on the Medicare Improvements Act>>
Genetic Nondiscrimination
On May 1, 2008, the House passed Senate amendments to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, H.R. 493. On May 21, the President signed this landmark bill into law. The legislation will prohibit health insurance companies and employers from discriminating against people on the basis of genetic test results. By prohibiting the improper use of genetic information, this bill encourages Americans to undergo testing necessary for early treatment and prevention of genetic-based diseases.
Read Speaker Pelosi's statement on the President signing the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act into law>>
Mental Health Equality
On March 5, 2008, the House passed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, H.R. 1424, which will end discrimination against patients seeking treatment for mental illnesses. The bill eliminates discriminatory provisions that erect obstacles to accessing care for Americans with mental health and addiction disorders. The 1996 Mental Health Parity Act required equality only for annual and lifetime limits. This bill requires equality across the terms of the health plan.
Watch Speaker Pelosi speak in support of the bill:
Health Care for Children
A top priority of the new Democratic-led Congress is providing health care for our nation’s children. On September 25, 2007, the House voted overwhelmingly to pass the final agreement reauthorizing the successful Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for five years. The Children’s Health Insurance Program provides health coverage to American children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but can not afford private insurance. This bill will bring health coverage to approximately ten million children in need – preserving coverage for all 6.6 million children currently covered by SCHIP, and reaching millions more low-income, uninsured American children in the next five years.
On October 3, 2007, President Bush vetoed this legislation. On October 18, House Republicans sustained President Bush’s veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, H.R. 976. House Democrats will continue to insist on insuring the full 10 million children covered by this bill.
Eighty-six percent of children covered by the SCHIP program are in working families that are unable to obtain or afford private health insurance for their children. The program is crucial for both our children in our country’s rural and urban areas. In rural areas, one in three children has health care coverage through SCHIP or Medicaid. In urban areas, it is one in four. SCHIP has also had a dramatic effect in reducing the number of uninsured minority children. After SCHIP was enacted, the number of uninsured African American children dropped from 20 percent to 12 percent; the number of uninsured Latino children dropped from 30 percent to 21 percent, and the number of uninsured Asian American children dropped from 18 percent to 8 percent. Additionally, health care through SCHIP is cost effective. It costs only $3.34 dollars a day to cover a child under SCHIP, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The reauthorization of the SCHIP program presents an historic opportunity to put an end to the morally unacceptable fact that nine million American children live every day without insurance.
Stem Cell Research
More than 100 million Americans suffer from cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other debilitating diseases and disorders for which embryonic stem cell research holds great promise in finding new and better treatments and cures. In June, 2007, the House passed legislation to expand the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research by lifting the restrictions on the embryonic stem cell lines that can be used for federally-funded research – restrictions that were imposed by President Bush in 2001.
Unfortunately, the legislation was vetoed by the President. With his veto pen, President Bush has gone against the will of Congress and the American people—72 percent of whom support stem cell research. The President’s veto said 'no' to the hopes of million of families across America. Every family is just one diagnosis, one phone call, or one accident away from benefiting from embryonic stem cell research. Science has the potential to answer the prayers of America's families; if we have a scientific opportunity to treat and cure disease, we have a moral responsibility to support it.
Military and Veterans’ Health Care
As part of the Emergency Supplemental funding measure signed into law in May, 2007, Congress is expanding and improving health care for the brave men and women who have given their all to keeping our country safe and secure. They deserve the best possible treatment. The legislation includes funding for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury care and research, for preventing health care fee increases for our troops, and for addressing the problems at Walter Reed Hospital. It will address the backlog in maintaining VA health care facilities, allow hiring of additional personnel for the administration of the VA health care system, fund mental health care for veterans, and speed up the processing of claims of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.