Bennet cites Colorado examples in Senate plea for health-care reform - Boston Business Journal:

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Coloradans, he said, "speaj for countless others across the All they ask for is a health care system that workxfor them, a health care system that doesn’t crush them with unreasonable cost increases, and a healthh care system that doesn’t deny them coverage just because they have pre-existinb conditions." Bennet, D- Colo., also touted his own proposal s to make patient transition care more cost-effective and "In Colorado, we haven’t waited on Washington," he said. "We’ve made real progresd in showing how to provider high quality health care at alower cost.
" formerly superintendent of the Denver Publidc Schools, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Bill Ritterd to fill the seat vacated by Ken Salazar when Salazar was picked by President Barack Obama as secretarh ofthe Interior. Here is the full text of Bennet's Senate-floor speech as prepared for delivery Thursday, provide by his staff. In the he is addressing the presiden t ofthe Senate. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the urgent need for healthycare reform. The peoplr of Colorado, and the American people, have waited for too long for Washingtoto act. We should begin with a basi c principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it.
If you have your and you like himor her, you shoul be able to keep them as well. We will not take that choicer awayfrom you. But even as we keep what we must confront the challenges of soariny health care costs and the lack of accesseto affordable, quality health care. The status quo is Every day, families in Colorado and across Americaa facerising premiums. Theitr plans offer fewer benefits. They are denied coveragwe becauseof pre-existing conditions. And until we fix the healt care system, we won’t be able to fix the fiscalo mess in which wefind ourselves. Since 1970, the shares of healthcare as a part of the GDP has gone from 7 percen t to17 percent.
The United States spendss over $2 trillion in health care costs, includinh over $400 billion on Medicare President Obama has said that the biggest threatr toour nation’s balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of healtb care. And he’s right. In Colorado, we haven’t waited on Washington. We’vee made real progress in showing how to provided high quality health care at alower cost.
Last the New Yorker magazine published an articlweentitled “The Cost Conundrum” that highlightz the important work that’s been done in Mesa County, Over thirty years ago this community serving 120,0090 people came together—doctors, nurses, and the non-profity health insurance company. They agreefd upon a system that paid doctors and nursesw for seeing patients and producing betterequality care. They realized that problems and costs go down when care is more InMesa County, the city of Granxd Junction implemented an integrated healtu care system that provides follow-up care with patients.
This follow-up care has helpedr lower hospital readmissions ratesa in Grand Junction to just 3 Compare that to the 20 percent rate and it is clear that our community on the Western Slope of Coloradoi is ontosomething groundbreaking. High readmission rates are a huge problem forour seniors. Nearly one in five Medicard patients who leave a hospital are readmittec within thefollowing month, and more than three-quarters of theswe readmissions are preventable. Rehospitalizatioh costs Medicareover $17 billiojn a year. It’s painful for patients and families to be caught up in thess cyclesof treatment.
All too often, care is fragmented you go fromthe doctor, to the to a nursing home, back to the hospital and then back to the doctorr again. Patients are given medicatiomn instructions as they are leaving the many times after coming off ofstronyg medications. They don’t know whom to call, and they are not sure what to ask theit primarycare doctor. The both our Denver and Mesa County healty communitieshave found, is to providee patients leaving the hospital with a “coach.” This coacyh is a trained health professional connecting home and the This coach teaches patients how to manage their health on thei r own.