Kennedy says the nation is moving backwards on health care. 39 million uninsured at present - will increase to 52 million by 2009. Events of 9/11 are not an excuse for moving backwards.
Kennedy sets sweeping health care agenda
June 18, 2002 Posted: 10:10 PM EDT (0210 GMT)
"Kennedy said Tuesday the nation is 'moving backward' on health care.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Trying to put health care front and center on the nation's domestic agenda, Senate Health Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy Tuesday outlined an ambitious agenda to expand coverage and bring down costs.
Undaunted by recent stalemates and setbacks, the Massachusetts Democrat, who has made health care a centerpiece of his career for three decades, said in a speech at the National Press Club that the nation was "moving backward" on health.
At least 39 million Americans lack health insurance, a number that Kennedy said could reach 52 million by 2009. Drug spending is rising, health insurance premiums are again showing double-digit inflation, and the industry has not brought its technology up to the latest standards.
"Every one of the ills afflicting our health care system is worse than before," said Kennedy, listing about a dozen bills he would like to see enacted.
"In my view, we must act on three major fronts: to reduce the shameful plight of the uninsured, to bring health costs down, and to enact a long overdue prescription drug benefit in Medicare."
Although Kennedy helps shape the Senate agenda, it is unlikely that much of his lengthy legislative wish list -- including such contentious items as requiring big businesses to insure all their workers -- could pass this year, particularly with Congress devoting much of its resources to defense and homeland security.
But his proposals are likely to find their way into the November congressional campaigns and then help mold the 2004 presidential race.
Some of the legislation he championed is relatively simple and has bipartisan support, including a stroke prevention bill that has passed the Senate and is pending in the House. Legislation to help families with severely disabled children pay for their care also has bipartisan backing.
Other initiatives, such as a proposal to expand health coverage to all Americans, are controversial. Similar proposals have foundered in the past, most notably during then-President Bill Clinton's 1993-94 struggle for universal health care.
Congress has already begun to consider some issues Kennedy raised. Two House committees took up the Republicans' $350 10-year Republican Medicare prescription drug plan Tuesday, and it could pass the full House by the end of this month.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, plan to bring up a bigger Medicare drug package in July, costing $400 billion to $500 billion over seven years. Most observers believe it will be an uphill battle to reconcile the two versions this year.
Kennedy said the fight against terrorism should not supplant health legislation, but rather the nation's post Sept. 11 spirit should encourage it.
"The tragedy of September 11 is not an excuse for more delay but a summons to decisive change -- to meet our obligations to address not only the great threat from abroad but the grave injustices that have too long hurt our national family," he said.
Legislation he listed included bills to expand a children's health insurance, to require big businesses to cover their employees, and to give grants to the health care industry to reduce administrative costs through better technology. He cited estimates the technology upgrade could save $400 billion a year -- "enough to finance universal health care several times over."
Kennedy also advocated closing loopholes in law that drug companies use to dampen competition from cheaper generic drugs, and wants to restrict advertising of drugs to consumers.
But he said Congress must balance excesses in drug pricing with appreciation for the role that drug companies play in developing new medicines that provide hope and relief for patients.
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