U.S. rep seeks alternative to healthcare bill
August 19, 2009
>As your United States Representative for the Tenth District of Texas, I would like to update you on the current health care reform discussions in Washington, D.C. I am working with my colleagues to promote commonsense reforms that will make health care more affordable, reduce the number of the uninsured Americans, and increase quality at a price our country can afford.
My colleagues and I have been listening to the American people, talking to doctors and patients, and debating different ideas to develop a broad outline of a health care reform plan that I believe will receive bipartisan support.
Health care reform must ensure that quality health care coverage is affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions. Any proposal must also protect Americans from being forced into a new government-run health care plan that would eliminate health care coverage for more than 100 million Americans who currently receive coverage from their employer. Every American must have the right to choose the health plan that best meets their needs and medical decisions must be made by patients and doctors, not government bureaucrats. We must satisfy these needs and improve lives through effective prevention, wellness, and disease management programs, while developing new treatments and cures for life threatening diseases.
Health care reform must also focus on expanding access to Community Health Centers that are so critical to underserved areas, both in large cities and in rural America. Any reform must also encourage home care and independence for patients, rather than forcing individuals into institutionalized settings. We must also work to promote seniors’ access to the doctors they need by modernizing Medicare reimbursements. Finally, the health reform plan must provide incentives to physicians who enter the field of primary care to help ensure that everyone has access to the doctors they need.
My colleagues and I have been listening to the American people, talking to doctors and patients, and debating different ideas to develop a broad outline of a health care reform plan that I believe will receive bipartisan support.
Health care reform must ensure that quality health care coverage is affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions. Any proposal must also protect Americans from being forced into a new government-run health care plan that would eliminate health care coverage for more than 100 million Americans who currently receive coverage from their employer. Every American must have the right to choose the health plan that best meets their needs and medical decisions must be made by patients and doctors, not government bureaucrats. We must satisfy these needs and improve lives through effective prevention, wellness, and disease management programs, while developing new treatments and cures for life threatening diseases.
Health care reform must also focus on expanding access to Community Health Centers that are so critical to underserved areas, both in large cities and in rural America. Any reform must also encourage home care and independence for patients, rather than forcing individuals into institutionalized settings. We must also work to promote seniors’ access to the doctors they need by modernizing Medicare reimbursements. Finally, the health reform plan must provide incentives to physicians who enter the field of primary care to help ensure that everyone has access to the doctors they need.
In order to positively, and effectively, reform health care for all Americans, I believe that we must recognize that placing Washington in between patients and their doctor is ultimately destructive to the quality of care. Health care reform is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an American issue. To provide affordable, quality health care, we must focus on empowering patients with ownership and control. Once we place more emphasis on patients, instead of government, I believe we can move forward with the type of reform that this country seeks.
Katy Times
August 19, 2009