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Health Care Reform
The need for comprehensive health care reform in
America has never been more urgent. It is a travesty that in the
richest, most powerful country in the world, there are more than 47
million people without health insurance. Every day, Americans
across this country are who have access to health insurance are still
struggling to afford premiums and co-pays, which have nearly tripled
since 2000. In fact, new estimates show that the cost for health
care for the average American family is more than $16,000 per year - an
increase of over $1,100 from the previous year. Health care reform
has been put on hold for far too long and cannot be delayed any further.
Senator Leahy believes that health
care reform must help all Americans access affordable health insurance
that provides quality care. One way to help keep costs down for
families is to include a public option among the choices available to
Americans looking for health care coverage. That is why Senator Leahy
joined with 27 other Senators to introduce a resolution stating our
belief that a public option should be included in comprehensive health
care reform. You can view a copy of the Resolution
here.
Click
here to
read the full text of statement
Senator Leahy gave
on May 21, 2009, about
the necessity of health care reform legislation. As
the debate about health care reform continues, Senator Leahy encourages
you to contact him with your ideas and suggestions as to how we can best
reform our system. Click
here to contact Senator Leahy about health care reform.
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RECENT EFFORTS
As a leader in Congress, Senator Leahy has worked hard to
promote legislation that will help keep our nation healthy and keep
costs low for consumers.
The "Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco
Control Act"
Senator Leahy was a cosponsor of Senator Kennedy's bill to regulate
the sale and manufacturing of tobacco products. The United States
sees 400,000 deaths a year caused by tobacco products and this bill will
help prevent new smokers from starting and help current smokers quit.
You can read Senator Leahy's statement on this legislation
here.
SCHIP
Senator Leahy worked hard with other Senators to pass a needed
expansion of the SCHIP program to help millions more children in the
United States have health care coverage. Vermont has been a leader
in providing health coverage to children through their SCHIP Program,
Dr. Dynasaur, and passage of the SCHIP legislation on January 29, 2009
will provide coverage to thousands of Vermont's children who did not
have health care coverage. Click
here for
a video of Senator Leahy discussing the SCHIP legislation and to read
Senator Leahy's statement on the passage of SCHIP legislation in the
Senate.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) made important
strides toward helping those affected by job loss afford health
coverage, promoting medical research, and developing a program that will
help all states make the needed switch to electronic health records.
Read more about ARRA
here.
Prescription Drug Coverage
Senator Leahy believes that Vermonters should have access to
affordable prescription drugs and have the opportunity to purchase
prescription drugs that are safely imported to the United States at a
low cost. He has worked to make the manufacture of generic drugs
more accessible and fair, closing a loophole which allowed brand name
drug producers to also market their drugs as generics, driving up prices.
More Information
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From Senator
Leahy:
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On Health Care Reform Legislation:
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