Democrats are working hard this week to firmly establish the link between healthcare reform and the health of small business in America.
Tomorrow, Senator Patty Murray will attend a hearing on the rising costs small business owners face in of providing healthcare for their employees.
According to the release, “The hearing will also highlight how health care reform legislation will lower costs, provide employees with portable care, and ease the burden of providing care for small businesses.”
Also tomorrow, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills will join “Small business owners from across the country for a briefing on the impact of health insurance reform on small business.”
Beginning at 9:45 (Washington state time), the briefing will be streamed live here. There will also be a simultaneous chat hosted during the event here.
Last week, Administrator Karen Mills of the Small Business Administration held a short conference call with media outlets to discuss how healthcare reform will affect small businesses in the Unites States. The only mention of healthcare came eight minutes into the call and was brief, but you can download and listen to that phone call here.
Posts Tagged ‘Patty Murray’
Democrats linking health reform and the health of small business in America
Monday, November 2nd, 2009Everett Clinic opposes Public Option
Friday, October 23rd, 2009Yesterday, Everett Clinic CEO Richard Cooper wrote this letter to Representative Jay Inslee. The letter also went to Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Representative Rick Larsen.
Dear Representative Inslee:
We are writing to express our opposition to the “Public Option” proposal that is currently being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives. We are very concerned that the “Public Option” would pay the same rates as Medicare. Our experience is that Medicare rates are not sufficient to cover the costs of providing care.
As you know, Medicare pays less in Washington than it pays in other states. Providers in our state are penalized because we deliver care more efficiently.
The Everett Clinic cares for more than 28,000 Medicare patients and we just completed an independent review of our Medicare finances. Under the original Medicare fee-for-service model, we lose $464 per patient each year. This year we are projecting a loss of approximately $11.7 million treating Medicare patients. With anticipated growth in the Medicare population, it is estimated that the loss will grow to $70 million over the next five years. If these same rates are also applied to a segment of our private insurance customers, it will have a devastating effect on our bottom line and our ability to care for patients.
Under the current system, the commercial insurers in our state subsidize Medicare payments by up to 40 percent. This subsidy is essential for us continue to care for our Medicare patients. If in addition payments for private pay patients are lowered to the level currently paid for Medicare patients in Washington, the entire healthcare financing system in our state will be permanently damaged. Patients will find it difficult to access care as providers struggle to keep their doors open.
As you are aware, The Everett Clinic, along with others in our area, have received national recognition for providing high-quality, low-cost care. We believe there are ways to improve healthcare that do not involve a radical overhaul of the entire healthcare system. Instead, there should be a concerted effort to implement proven measures that will reduce costs while improving care.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our views. We look forward to discussing this issue further at your earliest convenience.
Richard H. Cooper
Chief Executive Officer
Unions mobilizing on healthcare reform
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
The AFL-CIO and Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) are mobilizing to push healthcare reform that is “affordable, not taxed, includes a public option, [and] requires employers to participate.”
Locally, that means the AFL-CIO and WSLC are pushing people to call Washington-elected United States Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Senator Cantwell sits on the Senate Finance Committee and Senator Murray sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. These are the two Senate committees with jurisdiction over healthcare policy.
In a release, the unions state, “Insurance companies are spending millions right now to derail historic health care reform that includes the option of strong public insurance plan. Congress needs to hear from real working families, not just insurance companies.”
Cantwell and 27 others author letter to President Obama about Medicare reimbursement rates
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009Here is the text of a September 17th letter from Senator Maria Cantwell and 27 others to President Barack Obama about Medicare reimbursement rates.
Dear Mr. President:
As you continue working with Congress to facilitate the passage of health care reform legislation, we write to emphasize the need to realign spending in the Medicare program to focus on providing more value to beneficiaries. We support many of the Medicare payment reforms that are included in current versions of health care reform legislation, but believe additional effort must be made to get better care at a lower cost.
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Senator Patty Murray remembers Ted Kennedy on Senate floor today
Thursday, September 10th, 2009Today Senator Patty Murray spoke about her memories of Senator Ted Kennedy, with whom she served on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
You can also listen to the speech here.
Mr. President, when I was young, Ted Kennedy was larger than life.
I was just 12 years old when he was first elected to the Senate as the youngest son of a political dynasty that seemed to dominate the TV each night in my house and the newspapers each morning.
At first he served in the shadow of his older brothers. But as I grew up, the youngest brother of the Kennedy family did too – in front of the entire nation.
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Sen. Murray on the passing of Sen. Kennedy
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009Senator Murray has posted a statement on the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy, which comes across as warm, sincere, and reflective of Kennedy’s impact on his colleagues.
“(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement on the passing of U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA). Senator Murray served with Senator Kennedy for 16 years in the U.S. Senate, including many years as a senior member of Kennedy’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
”When I was young Ted Kennedy was larger than life. I could not believe it when I first walked out on the floor of the Senate and he walked over to welcome me. From that day on, he became a valued friend, a courageous partner, and a personal mentor.
“From my earliest memories in the Senate when I watched him patiently and passionately argue to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act, to his last moments when he led the charge to pass legislation that guaranteed equal pay for women and encouraged Americans to serve and give back to their country as he did, Ted never once stopped fighting for those who couldn’t fight for themselves. The country is indeed a better place because of him.
“His loss is very personal to me. I will miss him. Our country will miss him.
“My thoughts and prayers, and those of all Americans, are with his family at this difficult time.”
View the press release on Publicola here.
