Senator Cornyn Seeks To Strengthen Access To Affordable Health Care

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 10 Mar 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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With America's health care system in need of major reform, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced that he has introduced legislation in the Senate which would represent a critical step forward in improving access to affordable, quality health care.

Sen. Cornyn's new legislation, Ensuring the Future Physician Workforce Act of 2008, is aimed at improving health care delivery options, lowering costs, and strengthening access for patients, particularly those on Medicare. Specifically, it addresses the declining reimbursement rate for Medicare physicians which is threatening the availability of quality health care for Medicare recipients and limiting the time available for doctors to treat individual patients.

"There are more than 30 health care reform plans floating around inside and outside of Congress. Yet, few of these proposals address the most fundamental question: What good is health care coverage without access to that coverage," Sen. Cornyn said today. "If we are serious about reforming our health care system we need to ensure access to quality care and a future generation of American physicians who will administer that care."

"Unfortunately, Congress' continued failure to address the growing gap between physician reimbursements and the actual costs for delivering care is threatening both doctors and patients. We need to start changing the way we reimburse physicians. We need a system that provides incentives for reduced costs and quality care, while protecting the eroded physician-patient relationship. That is what this important legislation aims to do and I will fight to make sure this bill, and this critical issue, receives the attention it deserves in Congress," Sen. Cornyn concluded.

In endorsing Senator Cornyn's legislation today, Texas Medical Association President William W. Hinchey, MD, of San Antonio, said in a statement, "The physicians of Texas don't just applaud Senator Cornyn for introducing this bill, we rise to give him a standing ovation. The 'Ensuring the Future Physician Workforce Act of 2008' is a tremendous first step toward ensuring that our elderly patients and Texans with disabilities will have a physician to care for them when they are sick and injured. For years, we have been calling on Congress to enact a rational Medicare physician payment system that automatically keeps up with the cost of running a practice and is backed by a stable funding source. Senator Cornyn's bill will help make sure that America doesn't break its promise to our Medicare patients."

Congressman Michael Burgess has introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives and said today, "Patient care begins and ends with doctors. So, if we want to improve care, we must start by making sure we have enough doctors to treat patients today and tomorrow. This bill helps meet this criteria. I was a doctor for almost 25 years before running for Congress. As a physician, I was able to recognize many of the problems facing our current and future physician workforce. As a Congressman, I am proposing solutions to this challenge. This bill reflects that commitment."

Background:

- To view Senator Cornyn's full statement on this legislation in today's Congressional Record, please click here;
- To view a one-page summary of Senator Cornyn's legislation, please click here.

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee's Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee's Airland subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.

Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., practiced medicine as an OB-GYN in North Texas for nearly three decades before coming to Washington, D.C., to represent the 26th District of Texas. He serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and four of its subcommittees: Oversight and Investigations, Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, Health, and Energy and Air Quality. He is also the Vice Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.

http://cornyn.senate.gov