Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) shows his support for the Senate health care bill, saying “Our aim here is very simple: To recreate America as a wellness society, to get away from sick care to true health care.” (0:56)
At a Senate HELP Committee hearing Thursday, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) showed his support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, stating “the harsh reality is employers in most states in this country can fire, refuse to hire or otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity … and they can do so within the law.” (0:46)
In a HELP committee hearing Thursday on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) stated that “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered Americans are first-class citizens…they deserve the same civil rights protection as all other Americans.” (0:19)
By Marianna Levyash- Talk Radio News Service
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Thursday re-introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill aimed at ensuring employment opportunity for all Americans and banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
According to Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), about 20 states have already enacted laws banning discrimination on sexual orientation, some of which include gender identity.
“Qualified workers should not be turned away or have to fear losing their livelihood for reasons that have nothing to do with their capabilities, skills or performance. Such practices are un-American and it is time for them to stop,” Harkin stated.
Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) also showed their support for the legislation.
“We are on the path for a struggle … to have full equality under the law.” said Merkley.
Harkin said he hopes the bill will be signed by President Barack Obama by 2010.
By Ravi Bhatia-Talk Radio News Service
Small business owners testified in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Tuesday in an attempt by the committee to find methods for reducing the ever-increasing health insurance costs facing small businesses.
“Today, I’m announcing my own investigation into the pricing practices of health insurance companies that sell policies to small businesses,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), HELP Committee Chairman. “Health insurance companies should open their books, explain to the American people why they support a health insurance market for small businesses that is so dysfunctional and so lacking in transparency.”
Harkin argued that the legislation presented by the Senate would create health insurance exchanges that pool small business together and increase competition, also making health insurance more transparent.
“Small businesses pay 18 percent more then large businesses for exactly same insurance plan and coverage. The [exact] same policy,” he said.
Art Cullen, editor of the Storm Lake Times in Storm Lake, Iowa, accepted a $5,000 deductible on services provided by a hospital in order to keep costs manageable for his small business. The deductible forces cancer patients covered by the policy to pay $2,500 out-of-pocket for a shot at a local hospital – or to drive to the next town in order to pay $25 for the same shot at a clinic. The insurance prices, he said, drive down the potential revenue that the town could have earned from treating the patient at the local hospital.
“We need more insurance competition in the rural marketplace by knocking down state cartels,” he said. “We need to know that a single health catastrophe will not bankrupt us and bring down everything we have worked for over the past 20 years.”
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, Chair of the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners, said that the cost of health care is rising rapidly and that insurance companies have little ability to address the issues.
“The challenge moving forward will be to overhaul the delivery system to promote prevention, quality and results-based care to encourage healthy lifestyles and to eliminate waste and fraud in the system,” said Praeger. “The difficulties in the small group market, as in the individual market, are ultimately the result of medical spending that has outstripped the ability of most Americans to pay for it.”
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said at a press conference Tuesday that the Senate’s health care reform legislation will help small business owners by “creating health insurance exchanges to increase competition, enable small businesses to easily compare prices, benefits, and quality of health plans.” (1:00)
By Courtney Ann Jackson – Talk Radio News Service
Members of the Senate want to ensure that medical devices which patients rely on to stay alive and healthy are working properly. Patients as well as medical professionals testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) Tuesday to express support for the Medical Device Safety Act of 2009.
Each witness provided different insight into an issue that Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) sought to address over 30 years ago. He worked on the Medical Device Amendments Act, a bill that gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate medical devices.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said last year’s Supreme Court decision in Reigel v. Medtronic, Inc., gave corporations immunity from lawsuits which involve endangering consumers with unsafe devices.
“The upshot is that negligent corporations are not held accountable, victims cannot receive fair compensation and consumers are at risk. Unfortunately, this has had catastrophic consequences for ordinary Americans,” said Harkin.
Michael Mulvihill was one of the patients who testified. He received 22 electric shocks within a span of 53 minutes from a faulty Medtronic defibrillator. The defibrillator had been implanted in him a little over a year ago to help address an irregular heart beat and pulse rate.
Mulvihill said, “My hope is that no one else ever has to go through the pain and agony that I experienced with the fractured lead, and that Medtronic is held responsible for the injuries it has caused other patients like me.”
Sen. Harkin believes people should maintain the ability to sue when injured and, in turn, encourage manufacturers to use “utmost care” and improve the safety of their devices.
“The threat of [product] liability is the safety net that helps repair problems when the FDA or manufacturers fail to warn consumers properly,” said Harkin.
Other members of the panel felt that the “Medical Device Safety Act of 2009” could stifle some important progress in the realm of innovation.
Michael Roman, an amputee, testified that in the time span of just five years, the changes in spinal cord stimulator technology have made a “huge difference” in his life and that of his family.
“But what if Congress had enacted the Medical Device Safety Act in 2001? For me, I’m sure it would have been game over,” said Roman.
Committee members say the purpose of the Act is to ensure the safety of consumers.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) says that the FDA conducts its approval process with minimal resources and does not have adequate funds to “genuinely ensure [medical] devices are safe, or to properly and effectively reevaluate approvals as new information becomes available.” He says that the FDA expects manufacturers to provide information about their products and once those products are on the market, it expects the manufacturers to track and monitor for any problems. He believes that without the threat of product liability, there is not much incentive for manufacturers to report any problems found to the FDA or the public. (0:39)
By Mariko Lamb- Talk Radio News Service
Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md) praised the Affordable Health Choices Act that passed through the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) Wednesday.
“We’re not going to sit with the status quo. We’re moving ahead with healthcare reform,” said Senator Harkin.
“[The bill] offers to fix what is broken in our healthcare system without ruining that which works in our nation,” said Dodd. “It offers every American choice, stability, and lower costs.”
Although the bill passed through the committee with a 13-10 vote, not one Republican member voted in favor of the legislation. Regardless, Dodd praised the Republicans’ contribution to the markup of the bill, which includes 160 Republican added amendments. “I know that some of our Republican friends don’t want to admit their contribution, but they made good contributions to the bill, and we listened,” he said.
“Now is the time to rejoice on what we’ve done, but the battle must go on,” said Mikulski. HELP’s Affordable Health Choices Act is expected to be merged with a healthcare bill by the Senate Finance Committee, which is under pressure from President Obama to release its version as early as next week.
By Mariko Lamb, Talk Radio News Service
On Tuesday, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department Health and Human Services spoke to the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Eduacation, and Related Agencies about issues concerning her department’s FY 2010 Budget.
According to Sebelius, the Health and Human Services Budget priorities include: health reform, improving oversight over Medicare and Medicaid fraud, improving the quality of healthcare, combating healthcare disparities among U.S. populations, providing funds for the Health Resources and Services Administration and preparing for future outbreaks and pandemics.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) expressed his concern about PAYGO, a pay-as-you-go program, applying to the Healthcare Reform Bill. According to Alexander, a full analysis of the costs and details of PAYGO must be evaluated before supporting the proposition.
Sebelius and Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) agreed to re-evaluate additional concerns of the committee such as the the effective management of overlapping Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture responsibilities, the use of a previously-tested Senior Care Program, and a strategy to ensure healthcare in rural communities.
