Mikulski Attends White House Forum on Health Reform, Makes Statement on Health Reform

Press Release

Mikulski Attends White House Forum on Health Reform, Makes Statement on Health Reform

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Chairwoman of its Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging, is one of a select group of Senators who has been invited to participate in today's White House Forum on Health Reform.

President Barack Obama, senior White House officials, select Members of Congress, stakeholders and everyday Americans from across the country are gathering today for discussions and workshops focused on health care costs, expanding coverage and improving quality.

Senator Mikulski was tapped by HELP Committee Chairman Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to lead the Senate HELP work group on improving health care quality as part of a comprehensive effort to strengthen America's health care system. It's one of three work groups on health reform. The remaining groups focus on prevention and coverage.

"I strongly believe that ensuring quality throughout the health care system saves lives and saves money," Senator Mikulski said. "While we need to work toward providing universal access, my goal is health care that is sensible, achievable and affordable."

Already this year, Senator Mikulski has held six hearings on improving the health care of the American people, covering a wide range of topics including: • using health information technology to reduce medical errors and reign-in costs, • developing best patient care practices, including comparative effectiveness research, • closing the quality gap in American health care, and • how best to use the principles of integrative medicine to transform health care and make it patient-centered.

Senator Mikulski also recently held a field hearing in Maryland focused on Howard County's Healthy Howard Access Plan to explore how innovations at the local level can be used to guide public policy at the national level.

Senator Mikulski's statement follows:

"I was so pleased to be with President Obama today to really launch a serious national effort to close the coverage gap in health care for all American people and to reform our delivery systems so we improve health outcomes in our own country.

"Other than paycheck stability, there's no more compelling issue facing American families than the need to have access to health care and to be able to afford it when they need it. President Obama has launched this effort and I am part of a bipartisan effort in Congress to support him.

"Our national goal must be to improve health care for the American people, not only insurance reform. It must be health reform with sound financial underpinnings, not a money system that might or might not improve health care. We can improve health care by promoting a health and wellness culture, not a disease fearing culture.

"The approach must be multi-pronged. It must include universal access to health providers, a continuum of care in case management to help people comply with the doctor's orders, and very important lifestyle changes keep people well. We've got to invest in our research to find cures and in our public health infrastructure. Focusing on quality, prevention and an integrative approach will save lives and save money so we can afford health reform. We will do that through making the best use of information technology, the best use of practitioners, the best use of public health practices, and the best use of self-help and lifestyle initiatives.

"At the same time, it means reducing administrative costs, medical and prescription errors, and unnecessary, duplicative tests. We have so many different payers with so many different players, all with different rules of engagement. Administrative costs comprise seven to 30 percent of the health premium. We don't want a single payer, but we need a single standard on how to conduct reimbursement. For example, look at how providers get permission from insurance companies for hospital preadmission. Rules vary. Some require 24 hours notice, some require 48 hours and some even require two weeks. Under our current system, providers have to know as much about insurance policies as why they are admitting their patients.

"Let's change the way we do business so we can get down to the real business of providing health care for our families. Now is the time for action. Today's meeting is an important step in the path forward to health care reform that is sensible, achievable and affordable."

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