Sen Herb Kohl (WI) Letter on Health Care

Dear Mr. Schaefer:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding health reform. I always enjoy hearing from people back home in Wisconsin , and I welcome this opportunity to address some of the issues you raise.

Congress has made great strides towards reforming America 's health care system. As you may know, on November 7, 2009 the House passed H.R. 3962 "Affordable Health Care for America Act," and on December 24, 2009 the Senate passed H.R. 3590 the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."

Debate on the Senate health reform bill has been passionate and at some points daunting; passage was the result of long negotiations and the culmination of more than a decade of work. This bill takes major steps in the process of cutting health care costs, while maintaining quality and expanding coverage. This bill will cover 94 percent of Americans under 65 and provide coverage for more than 31 million of the uninsured, cut the deficit by $132 billion in the first ten years and roughly $1.3 trillion over the second ten years.

I am pleased with the direction we are moving with this bill. Many of the important insurance reforms will begin as soon as the President signs the final health reform bill; insurers will be prohibited from putting a cap on lifetime benefits and will no longer be able to rescind coverage when patients become sick. Children will be permitted to stay on their parents' insurance plan until age 26, and small businesses will receive tax credits to make covering their employees more affordable. These are just a few of the provisions that will immediately help improve our health system.

For Wisconsin , the bill will provide additional federal funds for BadgerCare, alleviating some of the burden on our state budget and preserving access to care that many in Wisconsin depend on. Additionally, the bill will provide free preventive services for over 870,000 seniors in Wisconsin and will extend the solvency of Medicare for an additional decade.

I was pleased that a number of bills I sponsored have been included in the merged Senate package, including initiatives that would improve the health and long-term care of seniors and work to reduce the cost of health care. These include the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act (S.647), the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act (S.631), the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (S.301), the Medicare Payment Improvement Act of 2009 (S.1249), as well as provisions from the Retooling the Health Care Workforce for an Aging America Act (S.245). My hope is that these are included in the final health reform bill passed by Congress.

I understand your concerns about the role of abortion in health care reform. I recognize that abortion involves difficult and ultimately personal decisions, and that decisions about abortion should be made by a patient and her doctor. Please know that I respect the deeply held beliefs of Americans on both sides of the issue, and I will keep your thoughts in mind as Congress continues to consider these important reforms.



Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I will be sure to keep them in mind as legislation progresses through Congress.




Sincerely,

Herb Kohl
United States Senat