Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

"In order to be an economically strong country, we must be a healthy country. The high cost of health care is a drag on Washington state families and businesses who are trying to do the right thing and provide coverage. As we look at reform of our health care system, we need to focus on stability; stable costs that won't eat away at paychecks, stable coverage that can't be taken away if you lose or change jobs or get sick and stable quality care that lets you see the doctor you want and make the decisions you need."
-- Senator Patty Murray

The Current Health Care Reform Debate

Faced with the critical fight on health care, Senator Murray has become a leading voice on meaningful reform. She believes that families deserve the promise that if you get sick or lose your job, you won't lose your health care -- and that you should be able to get health care if you have a pre-existing condition. That is why she continues to believe that a public option is the best way to lower costs long term, and ensure stable and portable coverage. Senator Murray knows that if you're not part of the solution, you are a part of the problem -- and that's why she's fighting for real health care reform, this year.

Senator Murray's Principles for Reform

* Lower costs long-term.
* Provide more choice and stability for families and businesses.
* Allow 'portability' - so you can take your coverage with you if you lose or change jobs or start a business.
* Prevent health insurance companies from denying or dropping your coverage based on pre-existing conditions or because you get sick.
* Restore fairness to the Medicare reimbursement system.
* Eliminate lifetime and annual caps.
* Promote prevention and wellness.
* Ensure a plan to increase the number of health care professionals in underserved areas and underserved fields like primary care.
* End discrimination based on factors like gender and age.
* Put an emphasis on health information technology to increase efficiency and decrease errors.

Senator Murray knows health care is one of the most important issues facing our state and country today. Throughout her career in public service she has fought to make health care affordable and promote new medical discoveries. Today, the high cost of care is having a major impact on families and businesses. As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that works on important health care issues including access and affordability, medical research, and patient safety, Senator Murray has been front and center in the work to reform our health insurance system. She is also a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee that decides how federal funds are spent on health care.

Senator Murray's Health Care Accomplishments

* Senator Murray was asked by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) to focus on a section of the health insurance reform bill to fix the shortage of health care workers across the country. Senator Murray authored the part of the legislation that provides incentives for medical students to go into understaffed professions like primary care and underserved areas like rural communities so that all Americans access medical care when they need it. She has also consistently fought to secure funding for the training of nurses and helped encourage health professionals to practice in medically underserved areas.

* Senator Murray helped pass an expansion of the successful Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to ensure that 10 million low-income children across the country will be able to see a doctor.

* Senator Murray is working on several bills that will help keep costs down for Washington state families and businesses. She has introduced the MediFair bill which would bring Washington state's Medicare reimbursement rate up to the national average and bring millions of new Medicare dollars into the state's health care delivery system every year.

* Senator Murray has also introduced a trauma care bill which provides grants to help hospitals like Harborview Medical Center to continue to provide life-saving care even in tough economic times.

* Senator Murray helped to write and pass legislation to bring generic drugs to market faster for the benefit of consumers without jeopardizing real innovation.

* Senator Murray has worked to provide federal assistance to dislocated workers so they may continue to have health insurance while looking for new employment. Murray supports tax credits to individuals to assist with health insurance costs and to small businesses to assist with health care coverage costs for their employees.

* Senator Murray has fought for increased funding for Community Health Centers to improve access to care to medically-underserved communities.

* Senator Murray helped pass the Mental Health Parity Act into law to ensure access to mental health coverage and services to all Americans.

* Senator Murray supports the modernization of Health Information Technology systems to get medical records online, streamline information, reduce errors and cut costs long-term. She also supports funding for telehealth programs to help increase health care options for people in rural or underserved areas.

* Senator Murray is a leading proponent for the Community Access Program (CAP) that is helping more than 20 Washington counties address local health care needs. She stopped the Bush Administration's plan to kill the CAP program and restored millions of dollars to the critical program.

* Senator Murray supports bipartisan legislation to fix the medical malpractice crisis. Senator Murray supports cutting down on frivolous lawsuits, protecting doctors serving Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP patients from punitive damages, and underwriting the cost of malpractice insurance for doctors.

Source