John Cottingham wrote: "Within a few weeks in America, we vote to elect
235 Congressmen and 33 U.S. Senators...It's not too late to check your
candidates record and vote accordingly."
Democracy Net has been recommended before as a good source for
candidates' views on different issues. YOu can search by zip code for
candidates running in your district, by candidates name and by issue --
See the DNET issue grid
http://www.dnet.org/My_Locality/Issue_grid.dnet/
Or the DNET homepage: www.dnet.org
Here are results for NYS Senate Candidates statements on Health Care:
NOTE: These are based on the candidate's issued statements and they do
not necessarily cover exactly the same issues for each, so you have to
read a little between the lines about what was said and unsaid. Neither
comment on stem cell research.
Office: US Senator
Issue: Health Care
All statements are posted directly by the candidate, unedited by DNet.
Hillary Rodham Clinton's Statement
HEALTH CARE
Learning from the Health Care Plan: When people ask me if I am
discouraged about the defeat of health care reform, I say,
"Yes, I was disappointed that we
were not able to make more progress." But I learned
about what is possible in the political environment. I
come from the school of smaller
steps now. The belief that making smaller changes, incremental
changes that will help some people is better
than walking away and saying there is nothing we can do.
Patient's Bill of Rights:
We can start by making sure that whether someone
chooses managed care or traditional pay for service care, they receive
quality care. That means they have a right to access a specialist when
they need a specialist. They have a right of continuity of care with
people who they trust to care for them. They have a right to some
assistance to appeal a decision that their doctors have made that breaks
a bond of trust and denies them the care to which they should be
entitled.
Health care for the Uninsured:
The fastest growing group of the uninsured is people between the ages of
55 and 65. For Americans 55 and older. I support the proposal that you
should be able to buy into Medicare. And if your company reneges on its
commitment to provide you with retiree benefits, you should be able to
get COBRA coverage until you're 65.
About a quarter of the people who are uninsured in our society are
children. These are children who, by
and large, are in families that work for a living,
but are not poor enough to be eligible for Medicaid. We've
made some progress on this. In 1997, the President proposed and the
Congress passed CHIP - the Children's Health Insurance Program. But there
are still more than an 11 million uninsured children. Some of those
children are eligible for Medicaid and should be encouraged to apply.
Others should be reached through CHIP.
I support proposing tax incentives to encourage the formation of
voluntary purchasing coalitions that will help small businesses have
access to affordable, quality insurance - and tax credits to help them
join.
Privacy and Genetic Discrimination:
No American should have to worry that his or her medical records will be
used to violate their privacy. Or that if they were to take some test
that was medically necessary, that the results of that test could be used
to discriminate against them in keeping and holding jobs for insurance.
Teaching Hospitals:
Our teaching hospitals are the crown jewels of America's health care
system. No one knows that better than the people of New York who are
fortunate enough to have within her borders so many of the best academic
health centers. In 1997 we made sure that Medicare payments for medical
education will go directly to teaching hospitals. Some have proposed that
we separate the funding of Medicare from the funding of teaching
hospitals, without any assurance that there will be a safe and secure
compensation system. I disagree.
It is fair and appropriate for health insurance plans to help pay for the
missions of our nation's teaching hospitals. Teaching hospitals benefit
all of us -and the cost for producing them should be borne by all of us.
Rick Lazio's statement:
HEALTH CARE
Lazio Applauds Breast Cancer Research Award
New York. Senate Candidate Rick Lazio applauded a National Cancer
Institute research award to Amplicon Corporation of Greenlawn and East
Setauket, New York. The $100,000 grant will be used to fund research into
the genetic relationships found in breast cancer.
Lazio is a long time Congressional supporter of breast cancer research as
well as the Human Genome project and health research in general. "It is
especially nice to know that some of this groundbreaking research is
being done right here in New York and I am proud to lend my support to
local research initiatives as well as sponsoring open educational forums
so that people can learn more about what is being done and provide
input," Lazio said.
The grant will be used over the next year to fund the Amplicon project.
It is one of many research projects being conducted across the state that
Lazio supports.
Maintaining Hospital Care for Seniors by Protecting New York Hospitals -
New Law Two years ago, the Medicare reimbursement system for hospital
outpatient services was changed. This new payment system is negatively
affecting hospitals -- especially those in New York. As a result, care
provided to seniors and others is now being compromised. According to the
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Medicare reimbursed
hospitals only 90 cents for each dollar they spent on outpatient care
before the enactment of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA). As a result of
these proposed provisions, hospitals will receive even less - only 82
cents for each outpatient dollar spent. The large redistributional
effects of the proposal will create even greater losses across the
country in hospitals large and small.
This negative effect will ultimately harm the care hospitals provide
seniors, those requiring emergency care, and the uninsured. If hospitals
are not reimbursed adequately, they will close certain departments,
probably emergency rooms and clinics, or close their doors altogether.
Rural areas and the inner-cities would have suffered the most. For this
reason, Lazio introduced the HOPE Act, the Hospital Outpatient Payment
Equality Act of 1999, H.R. 2979, so hospitals could be
reimbursed more equitably and provide the care to those who need it the
most.
Specifically, Lazio's legislation would limit hospitals' losses through a
"stop-loss'' provision. This help is crucial because under the PPS, more
than 50% of all teaching hospitals would lose more than 10 percent of
their outpatient revenues, and nearly 50% of all rural hospitals would
suffer similar losses. With hospitals already being reimbursed at a rate
far below their spending, reducing their future payments would
exacerbate their financial situation. The bill would restore
reimbursement levels for Fiscal Year 2000 through 2002. The bill would
also increase payment rates for services provided in emergency
departments and clinics. Emergency rooms
would be able to provide lifesaving care regardless of a person's
ability to pay and clinics are responsible for the delivery of many
preventive services that help manage the health status of seniors and
those with low incomes.
Many of these provisions and concepts were included in the Balanced
Budget Refinement Act of 1999, which has been signed by the President.
END
