HEALTH CARE REFORM

I believe there are issues that need to be dealt with regarding health care and people need reasonable access, however, I believe the plan being promoted presently will not have adequate resources to pay for it leading the nation into further debt.

Healthcare is also continuously changing, such as some pharmacies now have nurse practitioner's on staff that can treat a patient & write presciptions. There are also community organizations that acquire grants and funding for community healthcare facilities, as well as churches and non-profit organizations that offer health screening and health fairs. Annual audits and common sense checks and balances are of utmost importance in any organization government or otherwise. This can save the taxpayers or contributors millions or even billions in fraud!

Facilities like the Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center in Kansas City play a critical role in providing primary health care services in Missouri and throughout the country.

Services many of us take for granted – prenatal care, immunizations, check-ups, dental and mental health care – are available to many people who might otherwise go without,” With a community health center no one in need of care is turned away,”

Community health centers provide a safety net to as many as 46 million people who do not have health insurance. Many without insurance rely on emergency rooms or seek no care at all. I agree with Senator Kit Bond and believe an answer in part, is increased investments in community health centers. Since the year 2000, Bond and a bipartisan group of Senators have worked to secure an additional $1.2 billion for more than 3,000 new community health-care facilities across the country, including 50 new facilities in Missouri.

Many studies have proven the success of community health centers: these centers help patients make better use of preventative care, lower infant mortality rates, and remove barriers to racial and ethnic health disparities. Also, patients with asthma, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and AIDS are better able to manage their illnesses if they have access to a community health center. Bond pointed out that community health centers also help with spiraling health care costs – reducing health spending by 30 percent for patients. I believe that community health care centers will be an important part of the solution.

ANNUAL AUDITS & COMMON SENSE CHECKS & BALANCES ARE OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE IN ANY ORGANIZATION GOVERNMENT OR OTHERWISE. This can save the taxpayers millions or even billions in fraud!
I seek to find a balance between ending junk lawsuits which sue health care providers for nonsensical things and drive some out of medical practice, this could save billions of dollars, and the fact that there are times when people have legitimate grievances and there needs to be reasonable recourse to the courts for justice.
AND I AGREE WITH SENATOR KIT BOND’S IDEAS FOR REFORMING HEALTH CARE BY:

• Encouraging competition by allowing Americans to buy insurance across state lines to lower costs
  Allowing small businesses to pool together to offer their employees health insurance at lower cost.
  
  
• Giving individuals tax equity. Common sense insurance reforms that would increase access and lower costs.
  
  
• INVESTING IN PREVENTION & WELLNESS PROGRAMS, like the ones that have been so successful in holding costs down at major businesses like Safeway.