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As
Americans, we have one of the best, most sought-after health care
systems in the world. Individuals come to the U.S. from all over the
world to receive health treatments and procedures because of the quality
of care they receive here. Thousands of foreign students choose to
receive their medical education in the U.S. because of the quality
training we provide. But despite our first-rate care and training, we
face an expanding array of health care challenges, not the least of
which are placing significant strains on our federal budget, on
individual taxpayers’ family budgets, and on the 47 million Americans
without health insurance.
According to Michael Leavitt, former Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in the next two decades, Americans will increase spending on
health care from 23 cents of every dollar earned to 41 cents of every
dollar earned, including the amount it pays in taxes for Medicare and
Medicaid. A study by Harvard University researchers found that 50
percent of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical
expenses. Entitlement spending, or government spending that takes place
automatically every year without any new action by Congress, on programs
like Medicare and Social Security, is currently two-thirds of our
overall federal spending and growing.
These numbers are staggering, but I doubt that anyone is really that
surprised by them. We have been feeling the cost of our current system
for years, in our family budgets, in our health insurance premiums, in
the surprise medical bill that comes in the mail, and in our small
business expenses. And despite this fact, we still have yet to take any
significant steps towards revitalizing the current system. Simply, we
have outgrown it.
It is clear our health care system needs to be revitalized, and the
tough questions are how we do it and where do we begin? There are many
in Washington that would have us believe that the answer is to let the
government take control of health care and many others who believe that
would be the worst avenue for us to take. Perhaps we can begin by
considering what a government-run system would look like. Let’s take,
for instance, Canada’s health care model. In 2006, 70% of Canada’s
health care system was financed by the government, compared to 46% in
the U.S.
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second
leading cause of cancer death in women in the U.S. There are also 2.5
million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today. Largely this high
survivor rate is due to early detection and treatment efforts in the
U.S. – 90% of individuals in the U.S. who find out they have breast
cancer begin treatment within two weeks. In Canada, only 70% begin
treatment within two weeks, and many choose to come to the U.S. for
treatment instead.
Diabetes impacts 23.6 million Americans, and it is one of the principle
diseases that cause health issues for senior citizens. In the U.S., 93%
of individuals receive diabetes treatment within six months while only
43% of Canadians begin treatment in six months.
MRIs
use an imaging technique to spot many diseases early on within the
cardiovascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal systems. Right now,
most Americans can schedule an MRI in less than a week, giving
physicians critical time to begin treatment on any irregularities they
find. Most Canadians, however, must wait over a year for an MRI costing
the patient critical treatment time.
Stories of poor care under government-run systems show us that the
answer is not to dramatically shift our system away from a
patient-centered system. Yet, just last week a number of concerning
health provisions that will put our country on the path towards
government-run health care were included in the $790 billion economic
stimulus package. Among those provisions was the expansion of a National
Coordinator of Health Information Technology whose responsibility will
be to monitor doctors’ actions to ensure they are doing what the federal
government decides is appropriate for health treatments. Although health
provisions like this one were tucked away in the over-1000 page bill,
they make a very blatant move at shifting patient-doctor decisions to
bureaucrats in Washington.
Our goal must be to seek a balance, by providing even higher quality
health care at an overall lower cost. We need to protect that individual
right, while expanding access to care for seniors and low-income
Americans. There are a few ways Congress can do this.
We need to increase choices for health insurance. We can do this by
allowing families to purchase insurance across state lines, to carry
their insurance with them regardless of change in employment or a
decision by an employer, and to opt to use Health Savings Accounts.
These initiatives rely on competition and individual responsibility –
not government mandates and more bureaucracy – to achieve reform.
Programs like Association Health Plans allow businesses to join together
to offer health insurance at a much lower cost to their workers.
Repairing and strengthening the health care marketplace is the best way
to both preserve quality and lower costs in our health system.
We also need to bring our health care system into the 21st century
through the use of technology. Out-of-control medical malpractice
lawsuits have prompted physicians to order billions of dollars unneeded
tests, straining our health care system and limiting the number of
quality physicians to patients. Investing in virtual hands-on training
for medical professionals and electronic charting for patients has been
proven to reduce medical errors and could reduce health care costs up to
$17 billion a year in the U.S. I have introduced a bill, the
Enhancing SIMULATION Act (H.R. 855), which would prioritize these
commonsense technology efforts in our medical system, creating an
important step forward in modernizing our current health care system.
Over the coming months, I will be following this issue of health care
very carefully, seeking solutions that don’t just take the easy way out
through broad and sweeping changes to our patient-centered system, but
that take small, but valuable, steps forward aimed at transforming our
health care system. We stand at a critical juncture in our health care
system, but I am confident that we can maintain the best, most sought
after system in the world if we transform our current system into one of
empowerment, choice, and quality for all Americans.
Going to college next year?
Get FAFSA forms in early
In
today’s economy there is an increasing number of families looking for
help in paying for college. Because of the increase of those applying
for financial aid, the Federal Student Aid office of the U.S. Department
of Education is encouraging families to apply for federal assistance
early for the 2009-2010 academic year. The Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) is the standard application required for students to
be considered for federal student aid such as grants, work-study
assistance, and loans. The following information from the
Federal Student Aid will
help you in filling out and submitting your FAFSA forms.
Getting Started
To simplify the application
process, gather required documents and other information ahead of time.
Use these time saving
suggestions from Federal Student Aid.
For additional information on
the federal student aid application process, use the
FAFSA4caster.
Filling Out a FAFSA
The FAFSA contains questions
that ask about you, your financial information, your school plans, and
more. After you have gathered all necessary documents,
click here to
begin filling out your FAFSA.
Follow Up on a FAFSA
If you've already submitted
your FAFSA, you can check the status of your application, make
corrections to a processed FAFSA, and get other information by visiting
the Federal Student Aid
FAFSA Follow Up page. |