Brad.Ellsworth@mail.house.gov

Dear John,
 
Thank you for contacting me to voice your concern about health care reform.  I appreciate your comments, and I welcome this opportunity to

share my thoughts.
 
While the medical care provided by American doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals is the envy of the world, too often the skyrocketing cost of health insurance stands between working Americans and the care they need.  In fact, over the past decade, the cost of an average family health plan has more than doubled, leaving many American families under-insured and others with no health insurance of any kind.  Federal and state programs like Medicare and Medicaid provide access to health coverage for seniors and other groups, but they can't begin to address the growing need for help.  That means tens of millions of struggling middle class Americans are being forced to live in constant fear of losing their home or going bankrupt if a family member gets sick.  As these Americans delay essential care and try to get by without necessary medications, they get increasingly unhealthy-increasing the costs for everyone in the end. 
 
As you may know, health care costs for employers have also skyrocketed since 2000, forcing many small businesses to shift the growing cost of their insurance programs to their employees or eliminating their health plans altogether. Even after shifting away some of these increased costs, American businesses are forced to spend more per hour on health care than their competitors in other advanced countries-making American products and services less competitive.  That's one reason why America's 27 million small business owners cite rising health insurance costs as their number one concern-above fuel costs, taxes, and the economy.
 
Under the status quo, these problems are getting worse instead of better. Since the beginning of the current recession in late 2007, an additional 2.4 million workers and their families have lost health coverage due to layoffs and benefit cuts.  Meanwhile, 87 million Americans were without health insurance for all or part of 2007 or 2008.  When these uninsured Americans end up in emergency clinics and the hospital, everyone's costs go up.  In fact, family health insurance premiums cost $1,100 more per year just to compensate for care provided to folks without health care coverage.
 
That's why Congress is focused on solving the problem and making the changes necessary to ensure the system works.  Leaders in the House and Senate have proposed several major bills, which have been progressing through the legislative process since early June.  The health reform bill introduced in the House, H.R. 3200, has been debated and amended by three Congressional committees.  I was proud of my fellow fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Democrats on the Energy & Commerce Committee who negotiated a number of positive changes in the House bill in late July.  As you know, this bill will likely come before the House for discussion in the fall, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to improve the final product throughout the process.
 
As Congress works toward the goal of passing comprehensive health care reform, I will judge every amendment and bill on how they address the most important problems I have heard from constituents.  A real health reform bill must reduce long-term health care costs for families, businesses, and government, increase choices for consumers, improve access for the uninsured and underinsured, address the unique challenges faced by rural patients and providers, and accomplish all of these things in a fiscally sustainable manner. 
 
Of course, I will also base my vote on the facts of the bill coming to the floor, rather than misinformation and scare tactics by the media or outside groups.  Sadly, some have alleged a laundry list of problems with the reform bill in the House that simply aren't backed up by the facts. They must assume individuals would not take the time to examine the text of the bill themselves to verify the accusations.  For example, organizations have claimed the bill would require doctors to euthanize their patients or deny them care they ask for, which is of course false.  While the bill does not encourage euthanasia, it does provide seniors enrolled in Medicare with a new benefit allowing them to sit down with their doctor of choice to discuss the type of care they would like to receive in case of a medical emergency.  In the past, many seniors have been unable to get their doctors' expert opinion when making these decisions because no reimbursement was available for the often time-consuming discussion.  With this provision, seniors would now have access to their doctors' thoughts on the care they might want based on their unique health situation, which can provide peace of mind.  I would encourage you to scrutinize what you might hear about health reform-good or bad-and find the facts on your own.  There's a couple of independent websites which help to separate the myths and the facts: www.factcheck.org and www.politifact.com. 
 
This is an important moment for our country.  We cannot afford to leave this problem unaddressed, and I will continue to work toward enacting health reform that brings costs down for everyone, rewards health care providers based on quality not on quantity, and ensures every American has access to health insurance.  Of course, this is an especially important and complex issue, and it affects every family and business.  That's why I would encourage you to stay in touch with your comments and concerns as this effort progresses.
 
Thanks again for taking the time to share your views with me.  If you have not yet had an opportunity to fill out my online health care survey, you can find it at my Online Office at www.ellsworth.house.gov.

Sincerely,

Brad Ellsworth