Health Reform Legislation To 'Build On What's Already Working And Fix What's Broken,' Sen. Kennedy Says In Opinion Piece

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 29 May 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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An increasing number of U.S. residents "are on the outside looking in to a world of [medical] progress and discovery that is denied to them because they cannot afford quality health care," Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece. He writes that he is "thrilled" to be working with lawmakers on health reform legislation "that will build on what's already working and fix what's broken" in the current system.

According to Kennedy, health reform legislation "will include five major elements":

• Providing U.S. residents with "better choices" for insurance;
  
  
• Controlling costs;
  
  
• Emphasizing prevention;
  
  
• Making it possible for the elderly and disabled to live and function at home independently; and
  
  
• Ensuring that the U.S. "has a 21st-century work force for a modern and responsive health care system."

Kennedy writes that "all must share the responsibility and the costs -- businesses, government, health care providers and individuals alike" -- to achieve the changes. He adds, "We cannot afford to wait -- or to fail. And we will do neither" (Kennedy, Boston Globe, 5/28).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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