Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Issue Position: Health Care

As a member of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Reed has sought to improve patient care, reduce medical errors, and save consumers money by authoring legislation to modernize our health care system and make it easier for doctors to share life-saving information. Senator Reed has also been a staunch defender of Medicare and Medicaid, and opposed the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan because it is insufficient, overly complex, and too costly. Senator Reed has held several workshops to help more elderly and disabled Rhode Islanders understand the new prescription drug benefit under Medicare. Reed is also widely recognized as a champion of children's health initiatives. He earned bipartisan praise for his work on the national project to eliminate lead poisoning in children by 2010 and secured millions of dollars for the effort. Senator Reed has also sought to provide universal health care coverage for our nation's children, cosponsoring the MediKids program. Modeled on Medicare, this initiative would automatically provide every child with comprehensive health care coverage in exchange for a small monthly premium.

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