DeLauro Participates in White House Forum on Health Reform

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn. -3) participated in the White House Forum on Health Reform in the East Room hosted by President Barack Obama, which included five breakout groups consisting of senior White House officials Members of Congress and stakeholders with a variety of perspectives to discuss ideas on how to bring down health care costs, increase coverage, and improve quality

"With health care reform key to helping family budgets and getting our economy back on-track, the urgency for action could not be greater. This is why I was so pleased to be able to participate in the Forum on Health Reform President Obama hosted today.

"Each day we delay, increases the cost to people and businesses in Connecticut and across the country. Businesses are struggling with health care costs. People are growing increasingly concerned about losing coverage because their employer cuts back or they lose their job. One in three working-age Americans --more than 86 million people -- lacked coverage at some point during the last two years, and the economic crisis is only making it worse.

"The fact is, our current system is in dire straits and in urgent need of reform. A fact that was reinforced yesterday evening during a telephone town hall with my constituents. I heard from people anxious over what to do about health care costs following a job loss, and from those who still could not access the basic health care they needed even with coverage.

"Today's Forum was an encouraging step towards achieving our goal of quality, affordable health care for every American. In our breakout session and in the discussion with the President that followed, we had a serious discussion about the components necessary for health care reform: reducing costs, increasing coverage, and improving quality. As the discussions made clear, this will mean investing more in public health and prevention to help reduce the chronic diseases that currently cost us 75 cents of every dollar we spend on health care. It will mean that coverage has to provide meaningful access to care, and that co-pays and deductibles do not eat up family budgets when people come down with a serious illness. And it will mean taking a hard look at programs like Medicare and Medicaid to make sure we are delivering services like long-term care in a cost-effective way that does not impoverish our seniors, the majority of whom are women.

"Of course, I know that the road ahead will not always be easy. We will all need to make some tough choices. And ultimately, all the stakeholders in the system must be held accountable when it comes to controlling costs, improving quality, and ensuring meaningful coverage. I look forward to working on these goals with the President, my colleagues in Congress, and my constituents in the weeks and months to come."