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ABOVE: Tammy is working for real comprehensive prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
Covering the Uninsured
No issue is of greater concern to working families in Wisconsin than health care. Currently, there are 47 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 situation 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 January 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau issued its latest report on health care coverage, finding that 404,000 Wisconsin residents are uninsured. Over the past five years, insurance rates in Wisconsin have fallen over 1%, leaving more of our state without health care coverage. 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 National Institutes of Health supports innovative and foundational research programs, including many in South Central Wisconsin. The work of these researchers is critical to increasing our 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, over the past few years, 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:
- Monroe Clinic, to support their investment in health care information technology;
- St. Mary’s Hospital, to support the expansion of their inpatient capacity;
- 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.
Addressing Mental Health and Substance Abuse Issues
An estimated 15 to 18 percent of Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Mental disorders, ranging from mild depression to severe psychological impairment, have the potential to disrupt one’s life, family and employment. The issue is compounded by the stigma that surrounds mental health treatment.
I am especially concerned with the incidence of mental health and substance abuse disorders among our nation’s youth, which has a profound impact on our families, our schools and our communities. Mental health and substance abuse disorders among children, youth and young adults are major threats to health and well-being that often carry over into adulthood. 1 in 10 children and adolescents suffer from mental illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment, yet more than 80 percent of children who need mental health treatment do not receive it. When they do, it is on average a decade after the onset of illness. Across the United States, there are insufficient resources for school-based counseling professionals, and often students do not get the help they need. The current national average ratio of students to school counselors in elementary and secondary schools is 561 to 1. The short- and long-term consequences of untreated childhood mental disorders are costly, in both human and fiscal terms.
One of the most dangerous symptoms of mental illness is violence to self and others. The rate of suicide among our nation’s youth is shocking. Suicide represents the third leading cause of death for young individuals between the ages of 10-24, and the second leading cause of death among college-aged students. Mental health problems are implicated in 90 percent of those deaths.
I believe we must increase awareness about mental health issues, increasing prevention efforts and securing access to quality treatment. I will continue to work for parity of mental health care, making sure that all insurers provide equal access to these necessary services. As mental health promotion and prevention practices can impede the onset, or reduce the severity, of disorders, I will also continue to advance a prevention-based agenda with my colleagues in Congress.
Bolstering the Health Care Workforce
One of my highest priorities is to expand health care insurance coverage for all Americans. A critical element of this coverage, however, is a robust workforce to care for these individuals. Many health care professions are suffering shortages, but none more profoundly than nursing. It is estimated that the nation currently faces a shortage of more than 200,000 registered nurses—a number that is projected to grow to more than one million by 2020.
The nursing shortage is not for lack of people interested in entering the profession. Rather, the nation’s nursing schools cannot meet the demand. Due to a shortage of qualified faculty members, one out of every three qualified nursing school applicants is turned away. And, due to the great demand for registered nurses, qualified nurses have little incentive to become nurse educators—particularly because the average annual salary for nurse educators is at least 20% less than their counterparts in clinical practice.
Exacerbating the crisis is the fact that a large percentage of current nurse faculty members—as much as 70 percent in some schools—are approaching retirement age within the next few years. With some estimates placing the current faculty shortage at nearly 10 percent, this crisis will quickly escalate without prompt and determined action to address it.
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