Archive for the ‘Health care’ Category
See Today’s Health Care Roundtable For Yourself
Thursday, February 25th, 2010YOU can help Warren County Build a Permanent Free Clinic
Monday, February 8th, 2010VOTE Online to Expand Free Medical Clinic for Warren/Van Buren Counties
$250K Prize from Pepsi Could Help Isha Care Build a Permanent Facility
MCMINNVILLE—Two minutes of your time can make a big difference in the lives of thousands of uninsured Tennesseans who are unable to afford medical care.
Non-profit Isha Care Free Clinic of McMinnville is ranked in the top 5 in an online
contest hosted by Pepsi to win $250,000. Currently operating out of temporary space at the Harrison Ferry CIC on Highway 8, if Isha Care wins this prize the Clinic will be able to construct a permanent medical facility.
Visit the Isha Care website to VOTE: www.ishacare.org or visit the contest page at www.refresheverything.com/ishacare. The top 2 finishers of the contest both win $250,000. Any U.S. resident can cast 1 vote every day, so supporters can bookmark the link and vote daily to help win the prize. Voting ends Sunday, Feb 28 at 11pm (CST).
“The Warren and Van Buren county community members have been extremely supportive of the free clinic,” said Dr. Kalpana Rajdev, Medical Director of Isha Care. “But more funding is needed in order to establish a permanent facility, which is a dire and growing need. It is a common misconception that the uninsured are those who are out of work, but the population needing free care is much larger than that. Many people coming into our clinic are employed, but they can no longer afford the skyrocketing costs of care or health insurance—It is an epidemic of its own.”
Families USA (March 2009) reported that an astounding 30% of Tennessee residents were without health insurance for all or part of 2009. Of those who were uninsured, nearly 75% were employed at the time.
Dr. Rajdev sees the new free clinic as one viable solution for our local community to fulfill the urgent and ever-increasing need for access to basic medical care for those who cannot afford it. Construction plans for the Isha Care free clinic outline a 1500 square foot facility with two exam rooms, a laboratory, a waiting room, and equipment for electronic patient records.
Isha Care Free Clinic is a non-profit primary care clinic established in September, 2008. The clinic provides free medical care to the uninsured of Warren, Van Buren, and Sequatchie counties. Isha Care is wholly operated by volunteer physicians and staff out of temporary space at the local Harrison Ferry CIC just off Highway 8 in McMinnville. The clinic offers free care on Saturdays from 8am until noon. For more information contact Isha Care at 931-815-8500, or www.ishacare.org.
Gordon Helps Pass 3 Bills To Boost Small Business
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
WASHINGTON – Congressman Bart Gordon supported three bipartisan bills today aimed at helping small businesses in Tennessee and around the country. Each bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The House approved the Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act (H.R. 3014), which would create a loan program in the U.S. Small Business Administration to help medical professionals purchase health information technology.
“Numerous studies have shown that if doctors and hospitals started using secure health information technology systems, like electronic medical records, billions of dollars could be saved each year nationwide,” said Gordon who has been a longtime advocate for reducing the costs of practicing medicine.
Earlier this year, the President implemented a tort reform initiative that Gordon developed to reduce the number of frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits that doctors face.
The House also passed the Small Business Early-Stage Investment Act (H.R. 3738) and the Expand Entrepreneurship Act (H.R. 1842). Both measures aim to support new, promising small businesses.
“Early-stage businesses have been found to be some of the best job creators, but starting a new business is no easy task,” said Gordon. “These bills create important SBA programs that will assist small businesses in getting up and running. Helping small businesses grow is especially important for Tennessee’s economy, where more than 95% of our state’s private workforce is employed by small businesses.”
The Small Business Early-Stage Investment Act creates an SBA investment program tasked with providing grants to small businesses involved in health information technology, digital technology, defense technology, and agriculture research and development. The Expand Entrepreneurship Act directs the SBA to develop a comprehensive plan that identifies a strategy for each SBA region to create jobs through its programs.
Having passed the House, the three bills will now move to the Senate for consideration.
Gordon Votes Against Health Care Bill
Sunday, November 8th, 2009
HR 3962, the health care proposal in U.S. House, narrowly passed last night 220-215 with 1 republican, Rep. Cao of Louisiana, voting in favor of the bill. 39 Democrats joined 176 Republicans in voting against the first health care reform bill to make it to the House floor since 1965. From a press release:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Bart Gordon voted against the House health care bill (H.R. 3962) today, citing concerns about its ability to reduce health care costs.
“I firmly believe that any responsible health care bill must do two things: improve access to health care for small businesses and the uninsured, and reduce health care spending. This bill does one but not the other, it falls short of sufficiently cutting health care spending.”
The Congressional Budget Office recently evaluated H.R. 3962 and indicated that the bill would not reduce, but instead would increase, the federal government’s spending on health care over the long-term.
“Currently, one out of every six dollars is spent on health care in the United States,” stated Gordon. “It’s unsustainable to keep health care spending where it is now. We must decrease the amount of money our country spends on health care.”
Gordon made his decision after studying the bill’s provisions and listening to the concerns of Middle Tennesseans during numerous public forums, telephone town halls, face-to-face meetings, as well as thousands of phone calls and emails since debate on the issue started earlier this year.
“This process of drafting health care proposals has been both lengthy and healthy. I’ve received valuable comments and suggestions from the Middle Tennesseans I represent. However, we still have a long way to go,” said Gordon. “Any health care bill that is ultimately signed into law must not increase the federal deficit or our long-term spending on health care. I am hopeful that the Senate and House can work through the amendment process and conference committee and get to a point where we have a better bill that incorporates bipartisan ideas that I can support.”
Veterans’ Health Care Is Bart Gordon’s First Budget Priority
Friday, October 9th, 2009WASHINGTON – For more than two decades, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care system has been plagued by consistently late and, at times, inadequate budgets. On Wednesday (October 7), the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to ensure timely funding for veterans’ health care.
“Our veterans deserve the best available care – red tape and bureaucratic budgetary issues shouldn’t get in the way of their health care,” said Congressman Bart Gordon, who strongly supported the bill’s passage. “Over the years, the VA has had to make do with insufficient budgets resulting in restricted access for many veterans. This bill will change that.”
In 19 of the past 22 years, the VA has not received its budgetary funding prior to the start of the fiscal year. The legislation, the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (H.R. 1016), would require the VA to provide detailed budgetary estimates sooner so that Congress can allocate funds for the VA’s medical care programs one year in advance of the start of each fiscal year.
“My father and uncle served during World War II and they taught me the importance of taking care of those who volunteer to defend our country,” added Gordon. “Delays in VA funding do a disservice to those who have served. By streamlining the budgetary process, the VA will have up to a year to plan how to deliver the most efficient and effective care to our veterans.”
The bill would require the VA to submit a report each July on the resources it needs for the upcoming fiscal year in order for Congress to address any funding imbalances. This will help to safeguard against the budget shortfalls that the VA has faced in recent years.
The bipartisan bill is supported by a coalition of veteran service organizations, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, and Disabled American Veterans, who have endorsed the bill as “an historic legislative victory on behalf of all veterans.”
The bill now moves to the Senate where it is expected to pass and then be signed into law by the President.
Gordon’s Tort Reform Amendment Supported By President
Friday, September 11th, 2009WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, September 9, President Barack Obama delivered a nationwide address on health care. After outlining a number of priorities, the President stated that he would be instructing the U.S. Department Health and Human Services to move forward immediately on a medical malpractice reform initiative authored by Congressman Bart Gordon.
The day after the speech, Sept. 10, the White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained the Administration plans for medical malpractice: “The president and his team will look at very closely what Congressman Bart Gordon put in the Energy and Commerce legislation…to cut down on unnecessary costs and…defensive medicine.”
“The Administration is going to move forward with my proposals immediately,” Gordon added, “test them out in a number of states, and, as I understand it, develop a national policy to effectively reduce frivolous lawsuits.”
Gordon’s amendment to the House Energy and Commerce bill was modeled around a program the State of Tennessee implemented in 2008, which has proven thus far to be effective. The primary goals of Gordon’s amendment were to reduce frivolous malpractice lawsuits and encourage doctors to abandon the practice of defensive medicine.
“Defensive medicine is when doctors order tests and procedures to avoid being legally vulnerable and sued for medical malpractice,” explained Gordon. “This practice has been estimated to cost more than $200 billion each year – it’s one of the largest sources of wasteful spending in the U.S. health care system and we need to do something about it.”
Gordon’s malpractice reform provision will provide incentives to states that implement a “Certificate of Merit” or “Early Offer” program as alternatives to going to court. These programs have been shown to be effective in multiple states at reducing the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed. Gordon’s measure is the only medical malpractice provision that has been adopted in any of the health care reform proposals before Congress.
Local Pastor answers ‘What Would Jesus Do’ on health care reform
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
Pastor Michael Smith, Belmont University & Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Graduate
When I attempt to allow my Jesus-Center to influence my take on health care reform in the United States, I find myself drawn to a few core conclusions.
First, I am to pray and act for the well-being of all others. Among other things, this suggests I am not to seek to protect only myself or those like me but instead to be willing to run some risk, make some sacrifices, for the sake of other women and men. To put it another way, I am my brother and sister’s keeper, and if I understand Jesus rightly, all persons are my brothers and sisters. When I translate the sentiment into policy, I become more comfortable with the idea that some challenges require the wisdom and resources of the entire nation. While I may not yet discern the particulars, I accept that any solution must work for all of us.
Second, I am to seek and speak the truth. We Americans have become far too tolerant of lies told to advance an agenda. I’m afraid we’ve also become far too willing to accept and use lies ourselves, especially if we think a lie will help us “win.” I cannot imagine Jesus condoning the use of a lie for any purpose. Can you? If Christians are to play their proper role in the current debate, we must once again become people who seek and speak truth.
Third, I must lay aside all hatred. A while ago, a Christian woman said to me, “I don’t want any of my money going to help those people.” Whoever “those people” might have been to her, she dispised them. Take a little self-test. Use her phrase (”I don’t want any of my money going to help those people”) and try inserting a specific term in place of “those.” Try inserting terms like “poor,” “black,” “Hispanic,” “unemployed,” “liberal,” “conservative,” “pregnant out of wedlock,” and the like. Keep doing so until you find a term that makes your blood boil. That’s when you will have identified the group of people Jesus calls you to stop hating. Jesus forbids his followers to hate or to allow hatred to govern their life in the world.
A Reminder from Congressman Bart Gordon…
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009Friends,
On Monday, August 24, I will be hosting a Town Hall at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre. Two days later, on Wednesday, August 26, I will be holding a Town Hall at Vol State’s Wemyss Auditorium. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for both events.
I organized each meeting because I want to hear from you about health care reform and other important issues facing our country. For more information about the Murfreesboro Town Hall, click here. For more information about the Gallatin Town Hall, click here.
If you are not able to attend either event, I still want to hear from you and encourage you to contact or visit any of my offices.
Stay in touch,
Bart Gordon
Member of Congress
They lost the confidence of Americans after 8 years of failed policy
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009And now they’re back. They don’t want Nissan to have $1.6 billion in government auto loans to hire 1,000 workers to build the electric car of the future. They don’t want local construction companies bidding on local ARRA road projects to have a dime of their tax money. They don’t want enhanced health care for our veterans. They don’t want extended jobless benefits for our county’s growing unemployed or the millions being invested in our roads and schools.
What they want is to keep the status quo for the insurance companies because that’s worked so well for our families. Oh yeah, and they want to see the President’s birth certificate. That about sums up their plan to lift us out of their 8 years of failed ideas and policies.
Health Care Reform? Bart Gordon says, “We must get it right”
Saturday, July 25th, 2009WASHINGTON – Congress is currently considering three pieces of legislation aimed at reforming America’s health care insurance system. The bills take different approaches to reducing health care costs for those with insurance and extending health care coverage to millions of Americans currently without insurance. U.S. Representative Bart Gordon is working closely with his colleagues to ensure that the reform bill passed by Congress meets the intended goals and provides necessary fixes to the country’s health insurance system without raising our federal budget deficit.
“People in Tennessee and around the country are spending more on health care than on food or housing. More than 45 million uninsured Americans are getting their health care in emergency rooms, which drives costs up for those with insurance,” explained Gordon. “If we don’t reform health care, insurance premiums will continue to rise and push our country further into debt. However, we must slow down and get it done right. It is too important of an issue.”
Health care costs have doubled between 1996 and 2006. Currently, one out of every six dollars is spent on health care in the United States. In Tennessee alone, average family insurance premiums have increased by 77% since 2000.
“Health care insurance reform should focus on finding every penny of savings within our current system, as well as eliminate the waste and inefficiencies that have been shown to amount to hundreds of billions of dollars each year,” said Gordon. “Our goal should be to reduce health care costs and ensure affordable coverage is available to individuals, families and small businesses.”
Gordon, accompanied by seven other conservative Democrats, recently laid out concerns with the current legislation to the President. During the meeting, Gordon emphasized the importance of passing a bill that does not increase the deficit, hurt families or small businesses, or create a single-payer, government-run health insurance system.
“Health insurance reform is needed, but we must take time to get it right,” reiterated Gordon. “I am working to see that the bill we ultimately pass is a bipartisan bill that can get through both the House and Senate.”
Rebuilding Confidence Among Middle Tennessee Veterans
Saturday, June 20th, 2009By Congressman Bart Gordon
WASHINGTON – In December, officials at the Alvin York VA Hospital in Murfreesboro discovered that an endoscopy machine used for colon cancer screening had not been properly equipped with a specific valve. As a result, more than 6,800 veterans were at risk of having been infected with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV – all blood borne diseases.
On June 16th, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a congressional hearing entitled “Endoscopy Procedures: What Happened, What Has Changed?” I don’t sit on this Committee but received special permission to participate in the hearing and voice my concerns on behalf of the Middle Tennessee veterans.
Since the problem was revealed, 28 of the veterans who received a colonoscopy at the York VA during the period in question tested positive for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV. While there may be no way to definitively determine if the Murfreesboro VA caused any or all of these infections, one thing is certain – veterans’ confidence in the VA health system has been shaken.
One of the veterans I heard from served in Vietnam and is 100% disabled. Fortunately, he tested negative for the infections. However, he told me he would not have another colonoscopy until he was reassured this type of error couldn’t happen again. I voiced this concern at the hearing and encouraged the VA to be forthcoming with veterans about how the situation is being handled to assure them all precautionary measures are being taken to avoid the problem from occurring again.
Another veteran I spoke with from Lewisburg, who tested positive for Hepatitis C, recently lost his job. He is only rated 30% disabled and has great concerns about how he is going to afford the necessary treatment.
I also asked the VA to consider waiving any costs associated with the treatment now needed by the infected veterans. Most veterans are required to pay a fee for non-service-connected treatment at the VA hospitals.
The VA officials at the hearing didn’t have an answer to my question regarding treatment payments. Immediately after the hearing, I wrote a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, asking that he directly respond to the question of waiving treatment costs for the infected veterans.
A mistake was no doubt made with the endoscopy machine, and it is hard to say if the situation could have been prevented. However, paying for the treatment costs would definitely be one step in the right direction to rebuild the confidence veterans have in the Murfreesboro VA.
If you have any questions or concerns about the situation, please feel free to contact me at 615-896-1986. I remain committed to ensuring veterans get the quality health care they deserve.
Senators Bill Ketron (R-13) and Jim Tracy (R-16) try to scuttle Education Building
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009Senators Bill Ketron (R-13) and Jim Tracy (R-16) ran to the media to take credit for funding a needed building project at MTSU, but behind closed doors they’ve pledged allegiance to the Republican Party to defund it.
The Rutherford County Republicans have pledged to pull the plug on construction jobs at MTSU and the on site progress for a new education building for the state’s largest university.
According to David Gregory, vice chancellor for administration and facilities with the Tennessee Board of Regents, the $29.8 million project was funded in the 2007-2008 budget year as a Board of Regents capital outlay project, with a funding structure consisting of $17.3 million in cash and $12.5 million or in bonds.
Of that, $1.7 million has already been allocated in design fees and programming fees to the new building near Cummings Hall and the new roundabout on the MTSU campus. In addition, another $260,000 plus in construction management and site utility construction has been obligated.
Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey and Senators Ketron and Tracy are united in their opposition to improvements in education, health care and jobs. All three Republicans have opposed federal stimulus funds in all three areas, oppose recurring funds for pre-k education and now want to make major cuts in promised funds to MTSU.
Friday, the Senate Finance Committee passed Republican revisions to the governor’s budget plan eliminating the authorization of bonds for several higher education construction projects, including the MTSU project.
Some hope that will be changed on Tuesday, when the full Senate takes up the budget.
“I would say to you, we don’t build those buildings now, we will be unable to build them for some years to come because of the state finances,” said Democratic Sen. Jim Kyle.
MTSU was founded 98 years ago as a teachers college. University officials hope to mark the 100th anniversary by opening a building devoted to education teachers.
Senators Ketron and Tracy have spent months pushing a Republican agenda focused on abortion, guns and booze. When it comes time for leadership on issues that matter to working families of Rutherford County, they both choose cuts in education, health care and jobs instead of the hard work it takes to improve the quality of our lives.
Gov. Bredesen calls TN GOP budget plan what it is - “stupid”
Thursday, June 11th, 2009Gov. Phil Bredesen used one word to describe the budget plan cobbled together at the last minute by state Republican lawmakers: “Stupid.”
State Republicans propose major cuts in education, health care, and jobs after wasting several months on abortion, guns and booze legislation and ignoring the priorities of working families.
Tennessee Republicans have also proposed knocking Tennessee off the top of another good list by cutting funds to our state’s nationally recognized leadership in clean energy jobs. In a report released today by the Pew Environment Group, Tennessee ranks 3rd in the nation for creating clean energy jobs.
The GOP proposal would remove funding for the state to acquire land for a West Tennessee megasite that would be used to attract large manufacturers and more jobs to the state.
It would also scuttle Bredesen’s plan to spend $62 million in federal stimulus money to build a solar generation plant at the site near Brownsville and establish a solar research institute at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
One of the bad lists Tennessee tops is infant mortality rates. Rather than save the lives of babies and enhance the quality and culture of life in Tennessee, Republicans propose to cut needed funding to fix the problem.
“Some of these cuts are personal. The House spent two months talking about abortion this year, and now we’ve got a budget cut to eliminate the infant mortality money. That borders on being hypocritical as to what you believe in, whether you are pro-family or pro-life. It’s a study on infant mortality. It’s a study on how to keep these babies alive. I’ve got zip codes in my hometown with infant mortality rates of Third World countries. We’ve got to figure out how to stop that and we don’t need to wait until we’ve got a budget surplus to do it.”
Check back later for more focus on the role Rutherford County’s Republican delegation is playing in the state party’s proposed cuts in education, health care and jobs.
Democrats come together in Smyrna
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Rutherford County Democrats met tonight in Smyrna to talk about the importance of reaching out and communicating to our family, friends and neighbors.
Mike Cowger did a quick overview of what information you can access here on the RCDP website.
AFL/CIO Labor Coordinator Jack Irby spoke briefly about the bankruptcy of General Motors and resources available for the unemployed.
Ethan Link (pictured) spoke about the importance of health care and how Change That Works needs your help organizing grassroots support for needed health care reform.
Link spoke briefly about a former Tennessean who is working hard in television commercials to oppose health care reform. Rick Scott is the spokesman for a group calling themselves Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR). Scott’s role in America’s health care crisis started here in Tennessee and led to one of the largest fraud settlements in U.S. history and his ultimate resignation from the largest health care company in the nation.
Here’s more on the real Rick Scott, the man conservatives have chosen as the best person they could find to represent their opposition to health care reform.
Carefully omitted from his official profile is the fact that under Scott’s leadership, Columbia/HCA plead guilty to a massive array of fraud charges - which resulted in a fraud settlement of $1.7 billion dollars, the largest in U.S history. Columbia/HCA systematically defrauded taxpayers, charging Medicare $15,000 for Tiffany pitchers and other luxury goods, “exaggerating the seriousness of the illnesses they were treating,” and engineering a program where doctors were granted partnerships in hospitals as a kickback for referring patients. In 1997, Scott resigned in disgrace.
Republicans have hired Rick Scott to represent their opposition to health care reform because Rick Scott best represents what the Republican Party wants health care in America to look like: defrauding taxpayers and forcing your family into bankruptcy to pay for it.
