Health Care

Senator Merkley believes access to quality, affordable health care is not a privilege, but a human right.  Senator Merkley’s perspective on health care has been influenced by his wife, Mary, a registered nurse, who sees the world through the eyes of her patients: the people who should be at the heart of reforming our health care system.  

Right now in America, too many people face sky-high health care costs that discourage them from going to the doctor.  Some parents forgo medical visits for themselves in order to treat their children.  Seniors have to skip or stop taking some of their medications because they cannot afford the cost. Forty seven million Americans are uninsured and millions more are underinsured. 

Throughout his career, Senator Merkley has fought to expand access to quality, affordable health care coverage.  As Speaker of the Oregon House, Senator Merkley lowered prescription drug prices by expanding the state’s bulk purchasing program and fought to expand and improve children’s health care coverage.  Senator Merkley will continue efforts to improve health care quality and coverage for all American in the U.S. Senate where he sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. 

Affordable Care for Every American

Senator Merkley supports access to affordable health care for every man, woman and child.  In America, we spend far more than any other nation on health care, yet we have over 47 million Americans without coverage.  Many Americans who are insured still can’t afford the cost of their high deductibles and co-pays, and are left with sky-high bills that can take years to pay off.  

President Obama has made it clear that reforming our health care system is a top priority. Senator Merkley is committed to working with President Obama and his colleagues on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee to improve and expand coverage for all Americans.  Senator Merkley believes that health care reform legislation must stop insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, help small business and individuals afford insurance, and make sure that everybody has affordable and accessible health care coverage.

Since joining the United States Senate, Senator Merkley has supported health care legislation that he believes will lay the ground work for broader health care reform, including greater investment in health information technology, additional federal support for community health centers, and increased funding for Medicaid. 

Nursing

Senator Merkley’s wife, Mary, is a registered nurse and volunteer at health care clinics. Thanks to her insights, Senator Merkley knows firsthand the care and compassion nurses provide patients and their families.  Right now in America, there is a nursing shortage in our hospitals and health care clinics.  To help solve this problem, Senator Merkley supports efforts to establish a National Nurse Service Corps that would provide scholarships to men and women who commit to serving at health facilities deemed to be suffering from a critical shortage of nurses.  He also supports increasing financial assistance for nursing students and the establishment of a National Center for Nursing to help the recruitment and retention of nurses. At the same time, Merkley is working to increase investments that would help address the shortage of teachers at our nation’s nursing schools.

Prescription Drug Coverage for Seniors

Senator Merkley believes that our seniors should never have to pick and choose which medicines they can afford.  Senator Merkley supports requiring the Federal Government to negotiate Medicare prescription drug prices with the drug companies.  Merkley also supports bulk purchasing programs like the one instituted in Oregon, which is designed to secure discounted prescription drugs for seniors in need.

Medicare

Medicare provides health coverage for nearly 45 million Americans and is one of the most successful programs the federal government has undertaken.  Merkley takes seriously the promise to working Americans that Medicare will be there when they retire, and will fight any efforts to weaken it or take it away.  While opponents of Medicare suggest that the program is in crisis, Merkley knows that in fact, Medicare is among the most efficient elements of the entire health care system.  He also recognizes that an aging population will put increasing strains on Medicare’s funding.  Senator Merkley is dedicated to working to ensure Medicare remains solvent and the most important step is comprehensive health reform that brings down the costs of health care.

Children’s Health Care

For our children to do well in school and reach their full potential, they must be healthy.  One of Senator Merkley’s first actions in Congress was to support increased health care coverage for millions of uninsured children by voting to renew and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).   SCHIP is a program that works to provide quality coverage to our children and strengthen families.

The expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program will provide health care coverage for 4 million previously uninsured children in addition to the 6.7 million children already covered through the program.  In Oregon alone, the passage of this legislation will provide an additional 42,000 children with health care coverage, more than one-third of all uninsured children in the state.  

Addressing Pandemics

Senator Merkley knows that preparedness can be the difference between safety and disaster when it comes to the containment of pandemic diseases.  Merkley is committed to giving federal, state, and local governments the resources to address the spread of pandemic flu and other diseases to keep Americans healthy.