Former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt and former Republican HHS Sec. Tommy Thompson put out another joint statement in favor of reform -- this time pumping up the Senate bill. The statement was circulated by the White House in an effort to show bi-partisan support for reform.
A push to find Republican statesmen to sign on to health care reform backfired on Democrats earlier this year when former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole criticized Democrats for construing his endorsement of reform as an endorsement of Democratic proposals.
The health-care bill in the Senate represents another milestone in achieving meaningful health-care reform for millions of Americans. It is now critical that members of Congress work together in a bi-partisan fashion to pass a common-sense, fiscally responsible solution to drive down health-care costs, ensure access to affordable and quality care, increase efficiency and achieve real savings.
While we both have specific concerns with the bill in its current form, we believe a bipartisan consensus must emerge to address the health care crises in America. All evidence shows that the number of uninsured Americans will continue to rise and that skyrocketing costs will be simply unsustainable for American businesses and workers without Congressional action in the near term.
Any final bill passed into law must focus on both the human and economic impact, ensuring that access and affordability are achieved for employers, employees, and Americans currently without coverage. We can all agree that the opportunity before us is far too great to let specific differences stand in the way of reaching consensus legislation needed this year.
As the Senate takes up the bill, we urge Members to further reduce costs, waste, inefficiency and chronic disease prevalence through such measures as coordinated health teams at the family doctor-patient level. It is a proven idea that both business and labor have rallied behind, and will redefine the way we prevent chronic disease, eliminate unnecessary costs and deliver 21st Century health-care to millions who need it most. In short, coordinated health teams will tie together, and make real, disparate elements of health-care reform by providing a means to help eliminate costly fragmentation of our health care system once and for all.
Americans will look back with appreciation for those who set aside political interests to keep the process moving forward. Working together, it is time to show the nation that consensus legislation is possible, that ideas and bipartisanship far outweigh politics and, above all, that members of both parties rose to the occasion and got the job done.
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