Larry LaRocco on Health Care

Democratic Senate Challenger; previously US Rep.

Don't cut Medicare rates; ensure affordable health care

Americans who need Medicare shouldn't face losing doctors to treat them. "The government should play a role in increasing the number of doctors and nurses so Americans have access to quality health care," LaRocco said. Many doctors will stop taking Medicare patients if a scheduled 10.6% cut in payment to doctors is not averted. "All Idahoans deserve affordable, high quality health care, but they aren't getting it. Our government has ignored the health care crisis for far too long." Source: Press release, "Don't Cut Medicare" Jul 7, 2008

Address our nursing shortage, starting with nursing teachers

We can start by addressing economic factors that push nursing instructors away from teaching at local institutions such as BSU, BYU-Idaho (Ricks College), NNU, ISU, Lewis Clark State College, North Idaho College, and College of Southern Idaho. Nurses with enough skills and experience to be instructors give up significant income when they decide to teach instead of working in the private sector. Federal funds should be used to help compensate those who decide to teach anyway. They are engaged in what we should regard as a form of public service. But even that will not be enough unless we address the financial barriers that can keep willing students from entering nursing school. Here we can start by offsetting tuition costs for those who agree to spend four years working in rural communities and understaffed components of the health care system. In order to address specific nursing shortages, a system to track supply and demand for nurses should be implemented. Source: Campaign website, www.laroccoforsenate.com, "Issues" May 14, 2008

Preventative care for better health, and lower costs

Too little of our health care spending goes for preventative care and public health--less than 4› of every health care dollar. Only about half of recommended preventive services are actually provided. About 20% of children do not receive recommended immunizations and 60% of adults do not receive recommended colorectal cancer screening. Insurance companies do not presently factor in long-term savings from preventative care because so many of their customers will change insurers and providers when the change jobs. It is no surprise, then, that studies have found that providers do not stress preventative care because they are not adequately reimbursed by the insurance companies. Making all insurance portable will help encourage insurance companies to provide the preventative care that actually reduces costs. It is also a good example of how solving the health care dilemma can succeed if we tackle it from several angles at once. We need this kind of an approach, and we can do it. Source: Campaign website, www.laroccoforsenate.com, "Issues" May 14, 2008

Everyone should have affordable & portable health insurance

All individuals, regardless of employment, age, race, gender, geography or pre-existing conditions should have access to affordable and portable health insurance. The insurer should no longer be able to charge variable premiums based on age, gender, geography or pre-existing conditions. Individuals should always have the option of keeping their current insurance. Like large corporations and unions, small businesses should be able to pool insurance across state lines in order to reduce costs. Source: Campaign website, www.laroccoforsenate.com, "Issues" May 14, 2008

Health insurance equal to that given Members of Congress

Insurance companies and the federal government should provide a menu of health insurance options and products for all Americans with a guaranteed set of quality benefits. Individuals should be responsible for paying a fair portion of their health care costs on a sliding scale based on income. Americans should have access to health insurance equal to that given Members of Congress, which includes prescription drug coverage. Source: Campaign website, www.laroccoforsenate.com, "Issues" May 14, 2008

Allow people to keep their current health insurance

Individuals will be allowed to keep their current health insurance. The insurer will have the responsibility of complying with the national standards. Premiums paid out of an individual's own pocket will also be tax-deductible. These tax exemptions on employer and employee contributions will become more limited on the high-end portion of extremely generous plans, but the choice of insurance products will be completely up to the individual and not made by the employer. Source: Campaign website, www.laroccoforsenate.com, "Issues" May 14, 2008

Reduce the shortage of physicians

The shortage of doctors is already a problem for us in Idaho. In 2002, we ranked last in the number of doctors per resident. It takes many years to train a physician, and we must act today to meet the possibility of even more dramatic shortages in the future. That is why we need to follow through and pass bills like the recently-introduced "Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2007." This will increase the number of Medicare-supported physician residency positions in states with a shortage. Source: Campaign website, www.laroccoforsenate.com, "Issues" May 14, 2008

Increase access to medical school loans

We need to eliminate obstacles that discourage people from going into or practicing medicine. We should, for example, increase access to medical school loans by allowing interest on the loans to be deferred until a young doctor has completed his or her medical residency. Additional allowance should be given to doctors who commit to practicing in rural areas and other communities that are typically understaffed. Source: Campaign website, www.laroccoforsenate.com, "Issues" May 14, 2008

Control the cost of malpractice insurance for physicians

We must control the cost of malpractice insurance for physicians. We can do this by setting some reasonable minimum standards for filing these lawsuits. We should develop a system to track the supply, demand, need, and distribution of physicians as recommended by the Council on Graduate Medical Education. Source: Campaign website, www.laroccoforsenate.com, "Issues" May 14, 2008

Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care. Click here for a profile of Larry LaRocco. Click here for SenateMatch answers by Larry LaRocco. Agree? Disagree? Voice your opinions on Health Care in The Forum. Click here for a summary of Larry LaRocco's positions on all issues. Click here for issue positions of other ID politicians.
*Other candidates on Health Care:*		*Larry LaRocco on other issues:*
*ID Gubernatorial:* Butch Otter *ID Senatorial:* Larry Craig Michael Crapo Rex Rammell *2008 Senate retirements:* Wayne Allard(R,CO) Larry Craig(R,ID) Pete Domenici(R,NM) Chuck Hagel(R,NE) Trent Lott(R,MS) Craig Thomas(R,WY) John Warner(R,VA) *Incoming Obama Administration:* Pres.Barack Obama V.P.Joe Biden State:Hillary Clinton HHS:Tom Daschle Staff:Rahm Emanuel DHS:Janet Napolitano DOC:Bill Richardson DoD:Robert Gates A.G.:Eric Holder Treas.:Tim Geithner	*Winners of 2008 Senate Races:* ( * if new to the Senate) AK:Begich over Stevens AL:Sessions AR:Pryor CO:Udall DE:Biden and Kaufman GA:Chambliss v.Martin (Dec. 2 runoff) IA:Harkin ID:Risch IL:Durbin KS:Roberts KY:McConnell LA:Landrieu MA:Kerry ME:Collins MI:Levin MN:Coleman v.Franken (recounting as of Dec.1) MS4:Wicker MS6:Cochran MT:Baucus NC:Hagan over Dole NE:Johanns NH:Shaheen over Sununu NJ:Lautenberg NM:Udall OK:Inhofe OR:Merkley over Smith RI:Reed SC:Graham SD:Johnson TN:Alexander TX:Cornyn VA:*Warner WV:Rockefeller WY4:Barrasso WY6:Enzi	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles Social Security Tax Reform Technology War/Peace Welfare Other Senators House of Representatives SenateMatch (matching quiz) Senate Votes (analysis) House Votes Bill Sponsorships Affiliations Policy Reports Group Ratings

Page last updated: Dec 02, 2008