[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S10653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MISSED OPPORTUNITIES IN HEALTH CARE

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, this Congress has made little progress on 
health care.
  We know the problems. Health costs are rising. The number of 
uninsured is growing. American companies, burdened by growing health-
care obligations, are struggling to compete. And what has Congress done 
about it? Not much.
  The trends are worsening. Last month, we learned that nearly 47 
million Americans lack health insurance. That is up from a bit over 40 
million in 2001. Last week we learned that health insurance premiums 
rose 7.7 percent last year. That is twice the rate of inflation. And 
nearly every day, I hear from an employer concerned about the rising 
cost of health care.
  Unfortunately, this Congress has not made progress on these top-tier 
health issues. Congress has not made progress even where wide agreement 
exists.
  There is wide agreement on health information technology, or health 
IT. Most experts agree that smarter use of health IT would cut costs. 
It would increase efficiency. It would reduce medical errors. And it 
would save lives.
  Furthermore, health IT would help us to move to system of paying 
health care providers for the quality of care that they provide. That 
is an important priority of mine.
  Last November, the Senate passed a health IT bill unanimously. That 
was nearly 11 months ago. Yet an agreement has still not been reached 
with the House on a compromise health IT bill.
  This bill started with broad support across the Senate. But 
deliberations on this bill have now turned partisan. Recently, the 
majority has excluded Democrats from the conference committee 
deliberations.
  There is also wide agreement on Medicare physician reimbursements. An 
overwhelming majority of Senators have urged action to prevent a 
pending 5.1 percent cut in the Medicare physician fee schedule for 
2007. And there is broad agreement on the need to start rewarding 
quality in Medicare. But despite agreement on both issues, Congress has 
yet to act.
  There is also wide agreement on helping seniors confused by the new 
Medicare drug benefit. The new Medicare drug program imposes a penalty 
on those who sign up after the enrollment deadline. But the way that 
the Government implemented the new Medicare drug program confused 
seniors.
  In response, Chairman Grassley and I joined a wide group of Senators 
to introduce legislation to waive the penalty for this year. But 
despite broad support for this measure, it remains unaddressed.
  There is also wide agreement that we need to sustain important health 
safety net programs. In 3 months, funding for transitional medical 
assistance--TMA --ill expire. TMA provides temporary health coverage to 
low-income working parents moving from welfare to work. Without a TMA 
extension, nearly 800,000 working parents will lose the temporary 
health coverage that they need to leave welfare and lead independent 
lives.
  There is also wide agreement that we need to enact technical 
corrections to last year's Deficit Reduction Act. While I did not vote 
for that bill, it is important that Congress clarify any 
misunderstandings over its intent. I know that Chairman Grassley shares 
my interest in getting this done as soon as possible.
  There is also wide agreement to support the Children's Health 
Insurance Program, or CHIP. CHIP has helped cut the number of uninsured 
kids from 10.7 million in 1997 to 8.3 million in 2005. But despite this 
success, 17 States face federal funding shortfalls in their CHIP 
programs. These shortfalls potentially jeopardize coverage for hundreds 
of thousands of kids. We cannot afford to lose ground in our fight to 
provide more health coverage for children.
  There is also wide agreement that we need to improve health care in 
Indian Country. In June, the Finance Committee reported legislation to 
improve access to Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP in Indian Country. That 
bill is now part of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. That bill 
is being held hostage by a handful of opponents on the other side.
  There is no shortage of important health issues. Many health issues 
spark intense partisan disagreement. But that is generally not true 
about the ones that I just described.
  That is why it is so disappointing that these issues--from Medicare 
physician payments to transitional Medicaid--remain unaddressed.
  If we are ever going to make progress on the most difficult problems 
facing our health system--rising costs, the uninsured, threats to 
American competitiveness--we will have to work together and pass 
legislation. That we cannot even work together on issues with wide 
agreement is deeply troubling.

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