Health Care

“What I think is of concern is you just released new funding through HRSA to community health centers which is much appreciated, but there is no request for emergency funding this year. When you look at Zika [virus] and OCO funding this year, which Chairmen Kline and I will be voting on is billions of dollars in emergency funding for our overseas military operations on the Armed Services Committee, but when you look at that compared to a problem where we are losing 28,000 people per year."

“It is imperative that we support young physicians who want to specialize in underserved medical fields, especially those related to pediatric services,” said Courtney. “We know that there is interest among medical students to enter these fields, but the high cost of obtaining a medical degree often necessitates that they enter a more lucrative specialty. By providing an option for physicians to receive student loan repayments for practicing in an underserved field, my bill would incentivize medical students to enter these high-need areas. I am proud to be working with Rep. Collins, and groups like the Arthritis Foundation, to bring attention to the need for pediatric specialists in underserved fields. I am honored to be receiving the Arthritis Foundation Advocacy Leadership Award tonight. “

“Today the Senate was able to come together and vote nearly unanimously on a bill which will have a meaningful impact on the growing prescription opioid and heroin abuse crisis – and the House must do the same,” said Courtney. “I urge Speaker Ryan to recognize that our country remains in the grip of a drug abuse epidemic, and that the states urgently need assistance from the federal government in order to properly address this public health emergency. I also hope that the House will consider my bill which would provide an additional $600 million dollars in emergency supplemental funding to address both the law enforcement and public health aspects of drug abuse across our country."

“The Centers for Disease Control tells us that in 2014, 27,000 Americans suffered accidental overdose deaths across the country - a drastic increase from 2013,” said Courtney. “And this trend is happening again all across the country. In the state of Connecticut, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported its statistics for 2015, which showed that 723 individuals lost their lives. So we are in the midst right now of a problem that is sweeping across the country that is affecting states that are Republican and Democrat, Blue and Red, and we as a Nation need to get all hands on deck and come to grips with it."

“Losing 74 Americans every single day to this epidemic is unacceptable. As such, we strongly encourage you to declare the opioid and heroin epidemic a crisis immediately, and to look into a mechanism by which to make emergency funds available to states to combat the issue today. We stand ready to support your efforts to combat the epidemic that so many Americans are already fighting every day. We request your immediate attention to this serious matter and look forward to your response.”

“When Congress took action to delay the so-called ‘Cadillac Tax’ late last year, it was in recognition of the fact that a 40% excise tax on health plans was going to be an unfair burden on businesses and workers if it was ever implemented,” said Courtney. “While I have always been a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act, I continue to believe that the Cadillac Tax was ill-conceived when it was first added to the law – and the case against it has only grown stronger with time."

“As communities across the country continue to grapple with rising prescription drug and heroin abuse, we need to provide them with additional resources to improve upon the coordination of public health outreach, treatment and recovery programs, and law enforcement efforts,” said Courtney. “I am pleased to be joining Senator Shaheen, who has been a national leader on this issue, in her efforts to provide additional emergency funding to help communities across the country turn back the rising tide of drug abuse and addiction."

“Passage of a two year delay to 2020 of the 40% excise tax on health plans represents significant progress in the effort to protect middle-class health benefits,” said Courtney. “Along with many supporters of the Affordable Care Act, I warned in 2010 that the tax was ill-conceived when it was inserted in the legislation at the end, and eventually striking it from the books would only strengthen healthcare reform. The extraordinary collation of groups such as the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO, the American Benefits Council, and organized labor did an outstanding job of educating Congress on the exploding cost shift to patients that the excise tax would cause, creating new barriers to affordable healthcare. With the delay in place, I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress, the Administration, and those outside experts in the future to get this over the finish line.”