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Harkin: Health legislation a solid foundation to build upon

TOM HARKIN represents Iowa in the U.S. Senate. Contact: http://harkin.senate.gov • December 29, 2009

The Senate has now passed landmark legislation to reform America's health-care system. This is a prize that has eluded Congresses and presidents going back to the Roosevelt administration - the Teddy Roosevelt administration. It is an achievement on par with passage of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965.

Understandably, people have been dismayed by the raucous debate and messy legislative process surrounding health reform. However, it bears remembering that the debates leading up to passage of Social Security and Medicare were no less turbulent and partisan. Advocates of change faced bitter resistance, and were obliged to make pragmatic compromises. But by persevering, they dramatically improved the health and economic security of the American people. And they laid a solid foundation on which subsequent Congresses would build.

Today, we understand why earlier attempts at comprehensive health reform failed. We have seen that the health insurance industry and other entrenched interests are extraordinarily powerful. By passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we will finally break their stranglehold. And we will usher in three landmark reforms:

- First, we are going to extend access to quality, affordable health care to every American. An estimated 30 million Americans who do not have coverage will get it thanks to this bill. This is a big, historic achievement on par with passage of Social Security and Medicare.

- A second great reform in this bill is an array of provisions cracking down on abuses by health insurance companies - abuses that currently leave most Americans, including those who have health insurance, just one serious illness away from bankruptcy.

Among other things, this bill will extend coverage to people with preexisting conditions, and it eventually will ban the practice of denying coverage due to preexisting condition. It will stop insurers from canceling the policies of people who get sick. It will put an end to lifetime limits on benefits, while restricting the use of annual limits. And it will end the insurance industry's systematic discrimination against women, who now pay premiums that are up to 48 percent higher than premiums paid by men.

- A third great reform is something that I have championed for many years. Our bill includes a whole array of provisions to jump-start America's transformation into a genuine wellness society. For example, the bill requires reimbursement for recommended preventive services, such as mammograms, without deductibles or other cost-sharing requirements.

Our aim is to transform our current sick-care system into a true health-care system - one focused on preventing chronic disease and keeping people out of the hospital in the first place. This will save lives and money - indeed, it is the key to holding down future health-care costs.

In addition to these larger reforms, Iowa in particular will see a number of advancements. Our legislation creates a dedicated funding stream for Community Health Centers and a grants program to recruit health professionals to underserved rural communities. To increase access and care for seniors, the bill adjusts low Medicare reimbursement rates for low-volume hospitals, which has caused some Iowa facilities to struggle to keep their doors open and provisions to adjust the Medicare reimbursement rate to health professionals. For small businesses, it provides tax credits to make employee coverage more affordable.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was the opening act in health reform, not the final act. When Social Security and Medicare were originally passed, they had significant gaps in coverage. Subsequent Congresses built on the foundation of those original reforms.

Likewise, today, I think of the current health reform bill as something of a "starter home." It is not the mansion that some might want. But it has a solid foundation, giving every American access to quality, affordable coverage. It has an excellent, protective roof, which will shelter Americans from the worst abuses of health insurance companies. And this starter home has plenty of room for additions and improvements.

We can learn one final - and hopeful - lesson from the history of Social Security and Medicare. Those programs originally pitted Democrats against Republicans, left against right. But, today, they are hugely successful programs that enjoy overwhelming bipartisan support.

I predict the same success and eventual bipartisan support for the health reforms now before the Senate. We are going to create a reformed insurance and health-care system that works not just for the healthy and the wealthy, but for all Americans.

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Please discuss Sen.Harkins' statements above. Thanks.

-- Edited by Sanders on Wednesday 30th of December 2009 04:03:40 PM