Senator Kent Conrad | North Dakota

Conrad Works to Tackle Health Care Crisis

"There is little doubt that America's health care system is in need of serious reform: costs threaten to spiral out of control and swamp not just our federal budget, but also the budgets of everyday families. I am committed to helping forge a bipartisan solution to our nation's health care crisis. We need to focus like a laser on making our system more efficient."
- Senator Kent Conrad

Health Reform Benefits North Dakota
By Senator Kent Conrad

Conrad Continues Fight for Health Care Reform

Summary and Analysis of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(01-04-2010)

Health Insurance Reform and North Dakota: The Case for Change

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (.pdf)
(11-18-2009)

Health Care: A Brief Glossary

America's Healthy Future Act

Co-ops can compete - and garner votes needed to pass health reform

FAQ about the Consumer-Owned and -Oriented Plan (CO-OP)

Senate Finance Committee

Senate Budget Committee

Over the past year, there has been a lot of scary talk and outright misrepresentation about health reform. I wanted to take this opportunity to explain what the bill actually does and why it benefits both our nation and North Dakota.

The simple fact is that the status quo on health care is unsustainable. Skyrocketing health costs are putting enormous pressure on families and businesses all across the nation. Right here in North Dakota, the cost of health insurance is increasing three times faster than wages. By 2016, it's projected that families will spend $20,000 a year on health care - or 41 percent of their income.

Out of control health care costs are crippling our competitiveness and bankrupting the Medicare program and the federal government as a whole. Yet we lag far behind other advanced countries on key health measures, from infant mortality to life expectancy. And we leave 46 million Americans uninsured.

We can do better. And the Senate health bill proves it.

It is a pro-market, pro-consumer and patient centered bill that builds on our current employer-sponsored health coverage. There is no socialized medicine. No government takeover. No rationing. No cuts to guaranteed Medicare benefits. No benefits for illegal immigrants. And the bill contains provisions designed to prevent any expansion of taxpayer funding for abortion.

Instead, here are some facts about what the bill does:

Reduces the federal deficit. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the bill reduces deficits by $130 billion over the next decade and by between $650 billion and $1.3 trillion in the following decade.
Extends and improves Medicare by rewarding quality, not quantity. By cutting out overpayments to insurance companies and creating incentives for providing higher quality care rather than just paying more for more procedures, the bill will lower health costs. These changes will reduce premiums and cost sharing, expand preventive benefits and drug coverage, and preserve all guaranteed Medicare benefits for North Dakota's seniors.
Stops insurance abuses. Currently, too many Americans pay premiums for years, only to have their insurance company cancel benefits or hike premiums when someone in their family gets sick. The Senate bill prohibits insurers from denying coverage, rescinding coverage or charging higher premiums because of health status. And it bans lifetime or annual caps on new benefits.
Expands choice and competition and lowers costs. The bill gives North Dakota small businesses and individuals without employer sponsored coverage tax credits to help them buy coverage. It enacts my proposal to create new consumer-run co-op health plans and national non-profit plans to provide more competition. And it establishes new state-based exchanges where individuals and families can shop for the best value. This combination of greater competition, greater administrative efficiency, and tax credits will reduce health premium increases for the majority of North Dakotans.
Strengthens Medicare Payments to North Dakota. To ensure that North Dakota providers get fair Medicare reimbursement, Senator Dorgan and I included a frontier states amendment in the bill that will boost payments to our state by more than $65 million a year

No legislation is perfect, and this bill is no exception. But, this bill moves us in the right direction. It reduces the deficit. It controls costs. It preserves Medicare. It embraces choice and expands coverage. It reforms the insurance industry. And it rewards quality and efficiency. Overall, this bill is a win for North Dakota and a win for the nation.

Issues

Conrad Works to Tackle Health Care Crisis