HEALTH CARE & MEDICARE TOPICS:
		Covering the Uninsured
		Advancing Medical Research
		Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable
		Making Health Care Services Available for Wisconsinites

No issue is of greater concern to working families in Wisconsin than health care. Currently, there are 45 million people without health care insurance in America. Millions more encounter a health care system that is unresponsive or inadequate in meeting their basic medical needs because they are underinsured. This is simply unacceptable. With insurance premiums increasing, employer benefits being cut, and prescription drug costs soaring, it is time to address this problem with significant reforms.

The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee health care for all of its citizens. In August 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau issued its latest report on health care coverage, noting that 45.8 million Americans were without health care in 2004, including 377,000 Wisconsin residents. Among the uninsured are 55,000 Wisconsin children. As your Representative, I will continue my work to expand coverage and contain health care costs until all Americans have access to quality health care.

Advancing Medical Research

Improving health care for America requires a continued federal investment in medical research. The work of the National Institutes of Health, and the research programs they support, including many in South Central Wisconsin, is critical to an understanding of diseases and the development of new treatments to combat them. I will continue to be a strong advocate for adequate funding of these important medical research programs.

One specific area of medical research that holds enormous promise is stem cell research. Scientists have brought new hope to treating a number of diseases through stem cell research. Unfortunately, since August of 2001, the federal government has provided limited funds for search on stem cells from human embryos.

I believe limiting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research will hamper advancements in medical research. Those whose loved ones suffer from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, juvenile diabetes, or a spinal cord injury know the devastation these conditions cause. We should allow medical science to aggressively pursue this promising research because it holds enormous potential for the development of breakthrough therapies to treat these and other diseases.

Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable

I believe that all seniors should have access to an affordable, comprehensive prescription drug benefit. I support the enactment of a prescription drug benefit that provides prescription drugs to seniors in the same manner that seniors receive other health care services from Medicare.

In 2003, Congress passed legislation to create a Medicare prescription drug benefit. I voted against the bill because it failed to provide a comprehensive and affordable benefit for all Medicare beneficiaries. The law offers a meager prescription drug benefit, does nothing to control the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs, and begins to dismantle the entire Medicare program.

This Medicare prescription drug benefit, or Medicare Part D, went into effect in January of 2006. In signing up for Part D, seniors are faced with a dizzying array of choices and have often been provided with misinformation. Unfortunately, many seniors are still unable to afford their prescription drugs.

I continue to work towards a comprehensive prescription drug benefit that is affordable for all seniors and that will control the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs

Making Health Care Services Available for Wisconsinites

I have been successful in my efforts to provide federal funding for a variety of health care access and delivery programs throughout South Central Wisconsin, including:

• Madison Community Health Center, to provide care (including dental services) to the uninsured;
• Stoughton Hospital, for the purchase of biphasic defibrillators;
• Columbus Community Hospital, for a new Emergency Room;
• Madison Area Continuing Care Consortium, for long-term care services;
• St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, for improved radiation treatment services; and
• Beloit Memorial Hospital, for medical equipment.

IN-DEPTH: Press Releases | Legislation | Links

BACK TO TOP