Wednesday, February 17, 2010

[UPDATED] Note to Senator Amy Klobuchar

I composed this note to Senator Amy Klobuchar upon hearing that she had mailed a letter stating she does not intend to sign the letter to Harry Reid in support of Reconciliation and the Public Option. I'm sharing the contents of that letter in the hope it will inspire you to also compose a note to Senator Klobuchar encouraging her to sign the letter and support the Reconciliation and Public Option. Feel free to copy my note if you wish.

I have heard you will not sign the letter in support of the Public Option. I would like to ask you to reconsider. The Public Option is supported by a majority of Americans and its potential for cost savings is important. As you know the cost of health care for Minnesotans, as well as the rest of Americans, is skyrocketing. We need to revamp our health care system and that revamp needs to include a strong public option. Please take time to think about this issue again and reconsider your position. Join your fellow Senator Al Franken and sign the letter in support of the Public Option & Reconciliation.

Thank you for your time.


You can locate Senator Klobuchar's website by clicking on the header to this post or go straight to her email form by clicking here.

UPDATE 2/18/10:
This evening in my email I received a response from Senator Klobuchar, I have pasted it in its entirety below...

February 18, 2010

Thank you for contacting me about health care reform. Knowing your views is important to me as I work to ensure that Americans have affordable, high-quality health care choices. Many of you have written to me in the past and I want to take a moment to update you on the status of the health care reform legislation.

As you know, I am committed to enacting reform that will provide stable coverage and lower costs for Minnesota families, businesses, and individuals. Health spending in our country currently accounts for more than one-sixth of our economy. It is imperative that we act to make the system cost-effective, proactive and stable. As Congress works toward solutions to rising health care costs, I will continue to push for a bill that includes strong cost reforms, protections against insurance company abuses, comprehensive Medicare coverage and debt reduction.

This past fall health care reform legislation passed in the House of Representatives. The Senate passed its version of the health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, at the end of December. The Senate bill includes incentives to increase access to primary care doctors, especially in rural areas; provides extensive tax credits to small businesses to purchase health care plans for employees; bans insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions; fixes the "donut hole" by giving seniors better coverage for their prescription drugs; and includes provisions to combat Medicare fraud. If enacted, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office indicates that the Senate bill would reduce the federal deficit by $132 billion and extend the solvency of Medicare by nine years.

Currently, procedural options for the bill include having the House of Representatives pass the Senate health reform bill with changes and send it back to the Senate for a vote, or begin work on passing a revised bill. Among the changes I would like to see are eliminating the "Nebraska deal," improved protection for middle-class taxpayers, and making sure there is more transparency as the process continues.

While we continue to consider this legislation, I will work to ensure any version ultimately passed by Congress includes measures to benefit our state. I fought hard to ensure that the Senate bill included specific provisions to provide better health care for Minnesotans. Minnesota has consistently provided higher quality care, yet our health care providers are reimbursed for their services at a disproportionately low rate. To address this problem I worked to make sure that my bill to create a "value index" within the Medicare reimbursement system was included in the Senate bill. This provision would reduce costs by rewarding high-quality, cost-effective results, rather than paying procedure-by-procedure.

I was also able to ensure that the Senate bill reduced the original fee on medical devices - an innovative industry critical to our state's economy - by $18 billion and I worked to secure additional Medicaid dollars for the state of Minnesota. The Senate bill also includes the EARLY Act, a bill that I introduced to provide increased support and awareness to young women about the risks of breast cancer.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. One of the most important parts of my job is listening to what the people of Minnesota have to say to me. I am here in our nation's capital to do the public's business and to serve the people of our state. I hope you will contact me again about matters of concern to you.

Sincerely,
Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator


The response doesn't actually address my concerns, in fact it really skirts my whole email and just tells me what Health Care Reform she supports. The question of the letter to Harry Reid isn't even addressed in her response. Perhaps YOU can get a better response from her. Please email Senator Klobuchar and ask her to sign the letter to Harry Reid in support of a Public Option and using Reconciliation to pass it. Hurry, email her today!

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