Tag Archives: medicare

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Meet candidate… John Boozman


—–Values Legislation——

I firmly believe that traditional marriage, a union between a man and woman, is the backbone of our society. Studies have shown that marriage between a man and a woman makes for strong families, which in turn, makes for a strong nation. Unfortunately, many activist judges across America are trying to change the definition of marriage to fit their own agenda.

In an effort to end this, I have cosponsored and voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment, a bill that would define marriage in the Constitution and protect it from being radically redefined by judges who overstep their constitutional boundaries. This bill will hold judges accountable and prevent them from redefining marriage. It also allows for state voters and legislatures to determine if they wish to grant civil unions, without imposing on the rights of other states.

Just as strong families are a core value of our nation, so is respect for life. As a strong believer in the dignity of all human life, I will work to defend those who cannot defend themselves. In the 111th Congress, I introduced the Parental Notification and Intervention Act of 2009.
H.R. 2061 requires that parents be notified at least four days in advance of any abortion to be performed on their minor daughter and gives them power to stop an abortion from being performed. I also have supported measures before Congress that promote the sanctity of life, including:

  • Co-sponsoring and voting for an immediate ban on partial birth abortion;
  • Co-sponsoring and voting for legislation that charges a criminal with a separate crime if an act of violence against a pregnant woman results in the killing or injuring the woman’s unborn child;
  • Co-sponsoring and voting to expand tax credits and other support for adoption;
  • Co-sponsoring and voting for legislation to ban human cloning;
  • Co-sponsoring legislation against the morning after pill and RU-486.

As a member of the Values Action Team, a group of conservative lawmakers who work to create pro-family and pro-life legislation, I will continue to fight for family values, as well as other issues that reflect the ideals that we hold dear, such as protecting the Pledge of Allegiance and keeping the airwaves family-friendly.

I have to say after reading the boozman Healthcare and Medicare/Medicaid comments i am convinced that the candidate made an obvious choice for double speak and or not clearly stating where he stands…. i would say he is a repeal replace and eliminate all things associated with social service programs and  privatization all of it…you read it and tell me.

Medicare

As an optometrist who practiced in the Third District of Arkansas for 25 years, I know firsthand how important Medicare is to Arkansas’ seniors and those who are disabled.  While Medicare has helped millions of Americans live happier and healthier lives, the program has failed to keep up with the advancements the medical field has seen since its inception.

The Medicare program was in need of some modernization so that seniors and the disabled could benefit from new technologies and advancements made in the health care field.  For this reason, I voted for the “Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003”, which President Bush signed into law in December 2003. This new voluntary program guarantees real savings and choice to seniors looking for prescription drug coverage. Additional benefits for Arkansas’ low-income seniors are also included in the program.

In addition, I have consistently opposed annual cuts to Medicare reimbursements to doctors. Because physician reimbursements are so low under the Medicare program, many doctors around the country are no longer treating Medicare beneficiaries. The formula which calculates these reimbursements is desperately out-of-date. Until Congress can determine a formula which accurately reimburses physicians, it is vital that we prohibit further drops in reimbursements to our health care personnel, thus allowing our doctors to continue treating Medicare beneficiaries.

We also need to make sure that Medicare has the resources to deliver on its promise of a secure and healthy retirement for today’s and tomorrow’s seniors. I promise to work with my colleagues in the House, both Democrat and Republican, to strengthen Medicare so that the program can continue to provide innovative care and benefits to our nation’s seniors and disabled.

Health Care

During the twenty-six years that I practiced optometry in Rogers, I saw incredible changes in the health care field.  Today’s medicines and treatments have given people a longer lease on life and for that we should be grateful.

However, these changes have come with a price.  Recent trends in the health care industry show a staggering increase in cost, both to the provider and the recipient, that threaten our health care infrastructure.  This is especially true in rural areas, where access to quality health care services are limited.

In recent years, we have taken steps in the House of Representatives to try to address this crisis. We passed legislation that would limit medical malpractice abuse; upgrade our rural healthcare infrastructure; allow small businesses to pool together and purchase affordable insurance plans for their employees; and to promote the use of tax-free health savings accounts. We have prohibited massive cuts to Medicare reimbursements for physicians and worked to implement a new Medicare prescription drug plan that is helping more seniors than ever before. Lastly, we have placed a large focus on promoting medical research, disease awareness, and preventative medicine.

Nevertheless, we still have more work to do. We must not lose sight of the fact that many of our poorest families have no health care coverage, seniors are still struggling to find doctors who will treat Medicare patients, and that a number of diseases, like diabetes and cancer, are still running rampant.

My background as both a small business owner and a health care provider gives me a good perspective from which to work with my colleagues in Congress to lower the costs of quality health care for all Americans. We are committed to making this a top priority in the 111th Congress and it is my hope that the Senate will join us in making these much needed reforms to our healthcare system.

Health Care Debate

Read the legislation:

H.R. 3962 – Affordable Health Care for America Act
H.R. 3961 – Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009

I believe all Americans need access to quality, affordable health care. However, I am concerned that we are being forced into a government takeover of our health care system, something I am very much opposed to. This ‘one-size-fits-all’ experiment by the White House won’t give hardworking Americans the peace of mind that we deserve when seeking medical treatment.

We need to preserve the doctor-patient relationship. This allows patients to make choices that suit their individual requirements not Washington bureaucrats. Politicians making decisions about our health care needs is a prescription for disaster. Instead of taking away health care choices, we need to be offering more opportunities to patients. We need patient-centered health care that allows them to get the treatments and the care they need, when they need it. The President’s prescription will deny patients treatments and make them wait to get the treatments they are allowed to receive.

We need a plan that reduces health care costs, expands access and increases the quality of care. Unfortunately, the 1,018 page proposal supported by the President does not achieve those goals. We need to work together to make patient care the top priority in our reform. Despite claims this reform will reduce health care costs, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Elmendorf told Congress that the proposed reform will only INCREASE future federal spending on health care which will lead to a continued increase in the deficit.

I have been asked by constituents about my health care coverage. Some people say health care coverage offered to Members of Congress and all federal government employees is like the Obama plan. It’s not. The choices are all private insurance providers, creating competition, but there is NO government plan included. The vast majority of government employees are opposed to allowing any government option as part of their health care.

I don’t want the government to tell me what is acceptable and unacceptable about my health care options. I want my doctor to tell me what’s best for my care. I also think that if this government plan is enough for the American public, it’s good enough for Congress. That’s why I cosponsored House Resolution 615, calls on all members of Congress who vote for a public health care option to relinquish their entitlement to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and enroll in the public plan.

I believe that health care reform needs to include tort reform, something H.R. 3200 and H.R. 3962 fail to address. Our physicians, faced with possible lawsuits issue tests on patients that may be unneeded just to make sure they are covering all their bases to rule out serious health care concerns on a routine visit. This is driving up the cost of health care.

My Voting Record

RC# Bill Vote
564 h r 3081 No
563 h r 512 Nay
562 h r 946 Yea
561 s 3729 Yea
560 h res 1682 Nay
559 h res 1682 Nay
558 h r 2701 Nay
~ Recent Post

Medicaid enrollment spikes to 48M in weak economy…states are now cutting Medicaid to curb costs!


By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 49 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, as the recession wiped out jobs and workplace health coverage.

A report released Thursday by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found that enrollment in the safety-net medical insurance program jumped to more than 48 million — a record 15.7 percent share of the U.S. population. With the economy barely improving, states are forecasting a 6 percent increase in the rolls next year, meaning another strain on their cash-depleted budgets.

The Medicaid numbers are the latest piece to emerge in a grim statistical picture of the recession’s toll. The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s last year, according to a recent Census report. Nearly 12 million households received food stamps, a record.

Rising Medicaid enrollment also underscores the growing role of the government in health care, a polarizing issue in this year’s midterm congressional elections after President Barack Obama and Democrats pushed through a massive overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, nearly 6 million people have signed up for Medicaid, according to Kaiser. That period includes the biggest 12-month increase since the program’s early days: 3.7 million new enrollees from December 2008 to December 2009.

“There seems to be no end in sight to the fiscal pressure on the Medicaid program,” said Vernon Smith, who co-authored the Kaiser report.

Starting in the fall of 2008, the federal government provided more than $100 billion in additional Medicaid funding to help states cover growing numbers of people in need.

The last of that money will run out in June of next year, and states will face a jump of 25 percent or more in their share of costs, although they are still likely to be financially strapped. If Republicans win control of Congress, they may find it difficult to turn down requests for more aid from the states.

With or without Obama’s overhaul, government is becoming the dominant player in health care. Federal, state and local government spending will overtake private sources in 2011, three years before the new law’s major coverage expansion, Medicare economists said in a recent report.

Medicaid is a federal-state partnership created with Medicare in 1965 under President Lyndon Johnson. It covers low-income families and many elderly in nursing homes, with Washington paying about 60 percent of the cost on average. Medicaid has also been assigned a major role under the new health care law, which expands the program to cover an estimated 18 million additional low-income adults starting in 2014.

For now, states are cutting Medicaid to try to curb costs.

Nearly every state — 48 in all — took some action to limit Medicaid spending this year, and most plan more cuts next year. Although they didn’t reduce eligibility, Kaiser found that states took steps to restrict the scope of coverage:

• A record 20 states placed restrictions on benefits, and 14 plan new restrictions next year. Arizona, California, Hawaii and Massachusetts eliminated some or all dental coverage. Other states limited medical imaging, therapies, supplies and personal care.

• Thirty-nine states cut or froze payments to hospitals, doctors and other service providers, and most plan another round next year. Medicaid payment rates are already so low that in many states it’s hard to find doctors who will accept the coverage. Yet 20 states lowered payments to doctors this year, and 12 plan to do so next year.

• Eighteen states placed limits on long-term care services, and 10 plan additional limits next year.

The recession officially ended in mid-2009, but the Kaiser study indicates its ill effects will take a while longer to wear off. Meanwhile, states will have to gear up for the major Medicaid expansion under the health care law.

“We’re on a teeter board,” said Carol Steckel, president of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, and head of Alabama’s program. “Every now and then that teeter board balances. But it’s going to be rare. There’s always something else.”

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Online:

Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org