DeLauro Marks “Covered the Uninsured Week” with Roundtable Discussion on Health Reform

Middletown, CT – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) focused on the importance of implementing health care reform this year at a roundtable discussion with Mary Beth Johnson of Middlefield, who lost her job and the good coverage that went with it; Mark Masselli, President/CEO of Community Health Center, whose health center provides care for those who have lost health care coverage; Dr. Kristen Zarfos of St. Francis Hospital, who spends too much time wrangling with insurance companies instead of seeing patients; Larry McHugh, President of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, who works with small business owners struggling to offer health care coverage to his employees; Sharon Langer, M.Ed., J.D., CT Voices for Children, a health care policy expert.

"In these tough times, even people who once felt safe are now worried about losing coverage or being unable to afford the care they need. And even for those with coverage, surging health care costs are eating up more and more of the family budget. Health care reform is essential to fixing our economy," said DeLauro. "Only comprehensive reform addressing costs, coverage, and quality of care will truly help everyone with better care and reduced costs and put us on a sustainable path to the future."

On the importance of acting, DeLauro added, "We need to tackle the high health care costs that are making the whole system unsustainable. This means we must start getting better value for our health care dollars – through better information about which technologies work best, informed patient decision-making, and investing in prevention. Finally, we should all realize that we each play a role in helping to control health care costs through healthier lifestyles, which could help prevent the chronic diseases that account for 75 cents of every health care dollar spent.

"At the same time, we also have to bring some basic fairness and common sense back to the system to ensure access for all. That means ending insurance companies' unfair practices of cherry-picking the healthiest people while leaving those with expensive medical conditions behind. And making sure health insurance is comprehensive enough to actually cover people's medical needs when they become ill."

Before the recession, there were 46 million people without health coverage, including 326,000 in Connecticut. The recession has made the situation worse, with an estimated 14,000 people losing coverage everyday. Medical expenses factor into half of all personal bankruptcies and each percentage point rise in the national unemployment rate results in 2.4 million people losing employer-sponsored health coverage.

DeLauro concluded, "I believe the longer we wait, the worse things get. We need to reform our broken health care system – not in spite of our struggling economy – but because of it. I am not Pollyanna – true reform will be some of the most difficult work we face this year – but I think we can do it if we call on the energy and will of everyone who feels the impact of this crisis."