Senator Webb Responds...

Response from Jim Webb on Healtcare Bill:

Dear Mr. Kirchman:

To follow-up on your earlier correspondence regarding health care reform, I wanted to update you on where this issue stands.

As you may know, Congress has adjourned for the month of August without enacting health care reform. During the coming weeks, I will be carefully examining the reform proposals currently on the table. The fact that the legislation is now on hold will give Congress the opportunity to study these proposals carefully and to hear from interested citizens. It is important for us to be very deliberate on an issue of such importance to the lives of our people.

I have stated on several occasions my concerns that the Obama administration should have begun the process with a clear proposal that could have been the starting point for the work of the five separate congressional committees charged with responsibility for this issue. Without such a specific format, Congress has had difficulty crafting a bill of such challenging scope and complexity. I am hopeful that the President will remedy this problem in the coming weeks.

Currently in the Senate, two committees have jurisdiction over health care – the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Finance Committee. The HELP Committee has completed work on a health reform bill, the Affordable Health Choices Act. This bill aspires to significant reforms in the health insurance market, including provisions to prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. In the Finance Committee, negotiations continue on a reform package that might win support from both Democratic and Republican members of the Senate. The success of these ongoing negotiations will be critical in determining whether a bill can be achieved this year.

While most people are understandably satisfied with their health care, the system is not working for millions of American families. Spiraling costs for health care have placed our biggest industries at a severe competitive disadvantage, as employers struggle to provide insurance for their workers. By the same token, families are increasingly unable to depend on their health plans when they need them the most. This has contributed to the mortgage foreclosure crisis and the rise in personal bankruptcies. In short, our nation’s continued economic recovery would be advanced by meaningful health care reform, although such reform must emphatically be reasonable in scope, cost, and impact.

In the coming weeks and months, I encourage you to visit my website at www.webb.senate.gov for updated information about the healthcare reform debate. Additionally, the Senate Finance www.finance.senate.gov and HELP Committees www.help.senate.gov/index.html have posted on their websites useful information about their respective proposals.

Again, I thank you for your past correspondence on this issue. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me and my staff.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb
United States Senator

JW: kw

Update: Question for Senator Webb...

By 'meaningful healtcare reform," are you referring to:
1. Tort Reform
2. Increased Private Competition [crossing state lines] and the ability of Citizens to form and join Groups for improved buying power.
3. Meaningful reform of the insurance industry regulatory structure.
4. Government role limited to that of a safety net and enforcer of reasonable regulations?