Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

Individuals, families and small businesses in eastern Connecticut deserve a health care system that delivers quality, affordable and stable health coverage. The unfortunate reality for too many, however, is that the escalating costs of health care are limiting access to care, constricting family budgets and stifling our economy. We must work towards expanding health insurance coverage, improving quality of care, and reducing costs.

Congressman Courtney's Work on Key Heath Care Issues:

Ending Pre-Existing Condition Discrimination. Today, health insurers can deny coverage for any number of pre-existing condition, anything from seasonal allergies heart disease and cancer. Too often, this leaves hard-working individuals and families who have played by the rules without coverage when they need it the most. That is why I have championed legislation in Congress since 2007 called the "Preexisting Condition Patient Protection Act" to end this practice. My legislation will provide individuals who suffer from chronic, disabling, and life-threatening conditions with access to comprehensive, meaningful, and affordable health insurance coverage.

Expanding Insurance Coverage for our Nation's Children. Expanding health insurance coverage to our nation's uninsured children is not only the right thing to do, but makes financial sense because this demographic is the cheapest to insure. The benefits of early healthful choices will also translate into a lifetime of healthier choices, and in turn, a lifetime of health care cost savings. That is why I am proud to have successfully passed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. This bill, which is now law, will help provide care to millions of children in Connecticut and across the nation.

Improving Health Insurance Affordability for Small Businesses and the Self-Employed. Securing affordable health insurance remains one of the most critical challenges facing small businesses and their employees today. Today, nearly 29 percent of employees working for small businesses do not have health insurance. That is why I support commonsense and bipartisan proposals to make health insurance more affordable, predictable, and accessible for small businesses and the self-employed, such as the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act. The SHOP Act will offer tax incentives to encourage states to reform unwieldy small group insurance markets and support development of state purchasing pools, backstopped by a voluntary, national pool.

Ensuring Adequate Funding for life-saving research. Research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has long served as the foundation for major medical advancements, which in turn have greatly contributed to the health of our nation and strength of our economy. I have, and will continue to be, a fervent advocate of expanded investments in the NIH. In 2007 and 2008, I advocated and secured additional funding for NIH research, and continue to support efforts to ensure that funding for its work keeps pace with both need and medical inflation.

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