Press Releases :: July 31, 2009

Baldwin Leads Efforts to Unify Democrats and Advance Health Care Reform

“Unity Coalition” Breaks Gridlock

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin today successfully championed efforts to unify members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee allowing transformative health care legislation to advance.

Initial Committee negotiations resulted in cuts to health insurance subsidies for middle income Americans. These cuts were unacceptable to most Democrats.
With divisions among Members of Congress deepening, Baldwin worked aggressively with other members to craft provisions that would bridge the gap.

As a leader in a “Unity Coalition” of Progressives, moderates and Blue Dogs, Baldwin offered an amendment that creates new cost saving provisions, allowing the Committee to preserve the middle-income subsidies. The amendment improves the health care system while ensuring that all Americans have access to health insurance.

“Tammy Baldwin has been critical to our effort to reach consensus among House Democrats,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “Her efforts in the Energy & Commerce Committee will help us squeeze more savings for consumers and advance the health insurance reform her constituents need and deserve.”

To reduce costs, the Baldwin amendment would:

• Reduce cost to the government for prescription drugs in the public plan by clarifying that the Administrator of the public plan can establish a drug formulary and negotiation process in order to reduce drug prices thereby saving both the government and enrollees money. It allows the public plan to utilize the same process currently being used by private health plans.
• Require third-party prescription drug providers to be more transparent about their pricing and profits. Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM), also known as third-party prescription drug providers, are often used by health insurance plans to manage prescription drug coverage. Rather than operating out of your local pharmacy, they solicit by mail, Internet, and other means to provide drugs to consumers. This provision would require the PBM to provide basic performance information to the insurance plans that hire them.
• Create accountable care organizations in Medicaid requiring that the Secretary of Health and Human Services establish a pilot program to test improved payment methods and team-based care in Medicaid.
• Cuts bureaucracy by setting new standards that all health plans must meet to reduce government bureaucracy and paperwork, thereby simplifying the administration of health care.

“This amendment is a powerful response to the naysayers, the cynics and the keepers of the status quo,” said Baldwin. “By adopting it today, we will demonstrate that Congress is capable of bridging our differences to finally make health care reform a reality. It reflects the values we share: covering the uninsured while containing costs and assuring real choices. That is the result the American public expects – and we all agree, the time has come to make this goal a reality.”

Rep. Baldwin also played a role in securing a commitment that a single-payer health care alternative will receive consideration by the full House of Representatives.

Committee Chairman Henry Waxman recognized Baldwin’s critical contribution to moving the bill forward. “I greatly value Tammy Baldwin’s indispensable contributions to the success of this historic legislation,” said Chairman Henry A. Waxman. “She is a leader in the fight to provide access to quality health insurance for all Americans.”