Health Care

We have made great progress in making healthcare a right and not a privilege in this nation.  One year after the passage of Health Reform Patient's Bill of Rights, more Americans are covered by health insurance, people are receiving better care and better value and Medicare is helping Seniors pay for their prescription drugs. Thanks to these provisions:

• Nearly one million young adults now obtain coverage on their parents' insurance plans,
• Insurance companies can no longer drop someone’s coverage when they get sick,
• Kids cannot be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition,
• Insurers can no longer put lifetime or annual limits on coverage and
• Seniors are paying less for prescription drugs when they fall into the Medicare prescription drug donut hole.

The Affordable Care Act is working.  I will continue to fight against Republican efforts to repeal the law.  Along with my fellow Democrats, I'll fight to ensure the law is protected and fully implemented.

I am also fighting to ensure that Medicare and Medicaid remain strong for our seniors, disabled and poor brothers and sisters.  We face significant challenges in the weeks and months ahead, but we cannot break that commitment of healthcare for the most vulnerable among us and I will not allow our budget to be balanced on the backs of people who can least afford it.  I am working with my colleagues to ensure that these programs are stronger and more efficient and to strengthen TRICARE for our brave men and women in uniform.  I am committed to ensuring that physicians who serve Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE patients are reimbursed fairly.