Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Kennedy today called on Congress to extend Medicare to all Americans to respond to skyrocketing healthcare costs and provide insurance for 47 million uninsured citizens. "Health costs are threatening the livelihoods of millions of families because insurance premiums are rising four-and-half times faster than wages," he said in the committee's first hearing of the new Congress. "Many of us have views on how best to address the crisis. I believe the right way is to extend the guarantee of Medicare to all Americans," he said. Kennedy's plan would allow enrollees to choose among any of the health plans offered to members of Congress and the president. According to Kennedy, the plan would save $380 billion annually through reduced administrative costs, a universal electronic medical record system and reduced insurance overhead costs. Cost savings also would be garnered from covering uninsured Americans because they would receive preventive care and earlier treatment of disease, according to Kennedy's office. Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., also is poised to introduce his own healthcare measure, which would ensure universal healthcare coverage by ending the employer-based healthcare system, terminating Medicaid, and requiring every American to buy private insurance through state-run entities.
At the hearing, HELP ranking member Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., focused his comments on his own pet project, a small business health bill that would allow small firms to band together across state lines to bargain for insurance premiums. "I firmly believe that small business pooling power is an important component of any health reform effort," he said. Enzi can expect a fight on his small business healthcare bill, which most Democrats oppose, but he indicated he will cooperate with Kennedy on other issues. For example, Enzi said he wants to move forward with one component of Kennedy's agenda, a health information technology bill. Several witnesses at the hearing also called on Congress to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which both Republicans and Democrats have called a high priority. "I'm struck by how much agreement we've heard from a diverse set of participants," Kennedy said. Witnesses represented all facets of the advocacy community, including business, labor, health providers, and policy analysts.
In a procedural hiccup, Kennedy was unable officially to assume the gavel of the committee in the hearing because the Senate has not yet approved a funding resolution for committee budgets. Enzi gaveled in the hearing and then turned the meeting over to Kennedy.
~~~~~~~~
By Fawn Johnson
No comments:
Post a Comment