David Vitter on Health Care Republican Jr Senator; previously Representative (LA-1)

Fight to repeal the fatally flawed ObamaCare

David will work hard to ensure that our new public-private hospital partnerships really work for all Louisianians. He'll fight to reform the broken Medicaid program and promote preventative and primary care, which produce better outcomes and save taxpayer dollars.

In the U.S. Senate, David has strongly opposed ObamaCare, Obama's unconstitutional executive orders, and wasteful deficit spending. And he's refused Congress' lucrative ObamaCare subsidy and retirement benefits.

Introduced legislation to repeal ObamaCare

I fought ObamaCare & I'm still fighting it

Senator Vitter responded, calling their differing views on health care "a big, honest disagreement between us, I fought 'ObamaCare,' I'm still fighting it," he said.

ObamaCare injects government into private decisions

Melancon said the plan costs too much and does little for middle-class Louisiana families.

Vitter likewise opposed the measure, saying it would inject the government into decisions that should be left to doctors and their patients.

Pushed to allow re-importation of Rx drugs from Canada

Vitter also worked across the aisle with Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) to prevent insurance companies from denying women mammograms. A government medical task force recommended that women in their 40s do not routinely need mammograms.

Opposes SCHIP; it subsidizes wealthy states

Melancon voted for the measure, trying to debunk claims by opponents that it would amount to government-run insurance, health care for illegal immigrants or coverage for high-income families. "Making sure children have health insurance is not only the right thing to do, it's also much more cost-effective for taxpayers than leaving them uninsured and using the emergency room as a primary-care provider," Melancon said.

Vitter opposed the bill, saying it was disproportionately skewed toward states such as New York, which has higher incomes for eligibility than Louisiana, he said. In New York, the program's cutoff for a family of four is $88,200. Louisiana taxpayers shouldn't subsidize those states, Vitter said. "It just makes no sense to me," he said.

John voted against drug reimportation

JOHN: The lobbyist he’s talking about is a state lobbyist and represents Walgreen’s - not a pharmaceutical company. And Walgreen’s is for reimportation. This attempt to link me to big federal drug lobbyists is the biggest stretch.

Voted YES on the Ryan Budget: Medicare choice, tax & spending cuts.

[Sen. DeMint, R-SC]: The Democrats have Medicare on a course of bankruptcy. Republicans are trying to save Medicare & make sure there are options for seniors in the future. Medicare will not be there 5 or 10 years from now. Doctors will not see Medicare patients at the rate [Congress will] pay.

[Sen. Ayotte, R-NH]: We have 3 choices when it comes to addressing rising health care costs in Medicare. We can do nothing & watch the program go bankrupt in 2024. We can go forward with the President's proposal to ration care through an unelected board of 15 bureaucrats. Or we can show real leadership & strengthen the program to make it solvent for current beneficiaries, and allow future beneficiaries to make choices.

Opponent's Arguments for voting No:

[Sen. Conrad, D-ND]: In the House Republican budget plan, the first thing they do is cut $4 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years. For the wealthiest among us, they give them an additional $1 trillion in tax reductions. To offset these massive new tax cuts, they have decided to shred the social safety net. They have decided to shred Medicare. They have decided to shred program after program so they can give more tax cuts to those who are the wealthiest among us.

[Sen. Merkley, D-TK]: The Republicans chose to end Medicare as we know it. The Republican plan reopens the doughnut hole. That is the hole into which seniors fall when, after they have some assistance with the first drugs they need, they get no assistance until they reach a catastrophic level. It is in that hole that seniors have had their finances devastated. We fixed it. Republicans want to unfix it and throw seniors back into the abyss. Then, instead of guaranteeing Medicare coverage for a fixed set of benefits for every senior--as Medicare does now--the Republican plan gives seniors a coupon and says: Good luck. Go buy your insurance. If the insurance goes up, too bad.
Status: Failed 40-57

Voted YES on regulating tobacco as a drug.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. HEATH SHULER (D, NC-11): Putting a dangerous, overworked FDA in charge of tobacco is a threat to public safety. Last year, the FDA commissioner testified that he had serious concerns that this bill could undermine the public health role of the FDA. And the FDA Science Board said the FDA's inability to keep up with scientific advancements means that Americans' lives will be at risk.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes: Rep. HENRY WAXMAN (D, CA-30): The bill before us, the Waxman-Platts bill, has been carefully crafted over more than a decade, in close consultation with the public health community. It's been endorsed by over 1,000 different public health, scientific, medical, faith, and community organizations.

Sen. HARRY REID (D, NV): Yesterday, 3,500 children who had never smoked before tried their first cigarette. For some, it will also be their last cigarette but certainly not all. If you think 3,500 is a scary number, how about 3.5 million. That is a pretty scary number. That is how many American high school kids smoke--3.5 million. Nearly all of them aren't old enough to buy cigarettes. It means we have as many boys and girls smoking as are participating in athletics in high schools. We have as many as are playing football, basketball, track and field, and baseball combined.

Voted NO on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program.

• Reauthorizes State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through FY2013 at increased levels.
• Gives states the option to cover targeted low-income pregnant women
• Phases out coverage for nonpregnant childless adults.

Rep. FRANK PALLONE (D, NJ-6): In the last Congress, we passed legislation that enjoyed bipartisan support as well as the support of the American people. Unfortunately, it did not enjoy the support of the President, who vetoed our bill twice, and went on to proclaim that uninsured children can simply go to the emergency room to have their medical needs met. As the Nation moves deeper into a recession and unemployment rates continue to rise, millions of Americans are joining the ranks of the uninsured, many of whom are children. We can't delay. We must enact this legislation now.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. ROY BLUNT (R, MI-7): This bill doesn't require the States to meet any kind of threshold standard that would ensure that States were doing everything they could to find kids who needed insurance before they begin to spend money to find kids who may not have the same need. Under the bill several thousands of American families would be poor enough to qualify for SCHIP and have the government pay for their health care, but they'd be rich enough to still be required to pay the alternative minimum tax. The bill changes welfare participation laws by eliminating the 5-year waiting period for legal immigrants to lawfully reside in the country before they can participate in this program. In the final bill, we assume that 65% of the children receiving the benefit wouldn't get the benefit anymore. It seems to me this bill needs more work, would have benefited from a committee hearing. It doesn't prioritize poor kids to ensure that they get health care first.

Voted NO on overriding veto on expansion of Medicare.

• Extends Medicare to cover additional preventive services.
• Includes body mass index and end-of-life planning among initial preventive physical examinations.
• Eliminates by 2014 [the currently higher] copayment rates for Medicare psychiatric services.

I support the primary objective of this legislation, to forestall reductions in physician payments. Yet taking choices away from seniors to pay physicians is wrong. This bill is objectionable, and I am vetoing it because:
• It would harm beneficiaries by taking private health plan options away from them.
• It would undermine the Medicare prescription drug program.
• It is fiscally irresponsible, and it would imperil the long-term fiscal soundness of Medicare by using short-term budget gimmicks that do not solve the problem.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes: Sen. PATTY MURRAY (D, WA): President Bush vetoed a bill that would make vital improvements to the program that has helped ensure that millions of seniors and the disabled can get the care they need. This bill puts an emphasis on preventive care that will help our seniors stay healthy, and it will help to keep costs down by enabling those patients to get care before they get seriously ill. This bill will improve coverage for low-income seniors who need expert help to afford basic care. It will help make sure our seniors get mental health care.

Voted YES on means-testing to determine Medicare Part D premium.

SUPPORTER'S ARGUMENT FOR VOTING YES: Sen. ENSIGN: This amendment is to means test Medicare Part D the same way we means test Medicare Part B. An individual senior making over $82,000 a year, or a senior couple making over $164,000, would be expected to pay a little over $10 a month extra. That is all we are doing. This amendment saves a couple billion dollars over the next 5 years. It is very reasonable. There is nothing else in this budget that does anything on entitlement reform, and we all know entitlements are heading for a train wreck in this country. We ought to at least do this little bit for our children for deficit reduction.

OPPONENT'S ARGUMENT FOR VOTING NO: Sen. BAUCUS: The problem with this amendment is exactly what the sponsor said: It is exactly like Part B. Medicare Part B is a premium that is paid with respect to doctors' examinations and Medicare reimbursement. Part D is the drug benefit. Part D premiums vary significantly nationwide according to geography and according to the plans offered. It is nothing like Part B.

Second, any change in Part D is required to be in any Medicare bill if it comes up. We may want to make other Medicare changes. We don't want to be restricted to means testing.

Third, this should be considered broad health care reform, at least Medicare reform, and not be isolated in this case. LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Amendment rejected, 42-56

Voted YES on allowing tribal Indians to opt out of federal healthcare.

TRIBAL MEMBER CHOICE PROGRAM: Members of federally-recognized Indian Tribes shall be provided the opportunity to voluntarily enroll, with a risk-adjusted subsidy for the purchase of qualified health insurance in order to--
1. improve Indian access to high quality health care services;
2. provide incentives to Indian patients to seek preventive health care services;
3. create opportunities for Indians to participate in the health care decision process;
4. encourage effective use of health care services by Indians; and
5. allow Indians to make health care coverage & delivery decisions & choices.

SUPPORTER'S ARGUMENT FOR VOTING YES:Sen. COBURN: The underlying legislation, S.1200, does not fix the underlying problems with tribal healthcare. It does not fix rationing. It does not fix waiting lines. It does not fix the inferior quality that is being applied to a lot of Native Americans and Alaskans in this country. It does not fix any of those problems. In fact, it authorizes more services without making sure the money is there to follow it.

Those who say a failure to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act is a violation of our trust obligations are correct. However, I believe simply reauthorizing this system with minor modifications is an even greater violation of that commitment.

OPPONENT'S ARGUMENT FOR VOTING NO:Sen. DORGAN: It is not more money necessarily that is only going to solve the problem. But I guarantee you that less money will not solve the problem. If you add another program for other Indians who can go somewhere else and be able to present a card, they have now taken money out of the system and purchased their own insurance--then those who live on the reservation with the current Indian Health Service clinic there has less money. How does that work to help the folks who are stranded with no competition?

LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Amendment rejected, 28-67

Voted NO on adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility.

Proponents support voting YES because:

Rep. DINGELL: This is not a perfect bill, but it is an excellent bipartisan compromise. The bill provides health coverage for 3.9 million children who are eligible, yet remain uninsured. It meets the concerns expressed in the President's veto message [from HR976]:

1. It terminates the coverage of childless adults.
2. It targets bonus payments only to States that increase enrollments of the poorest uninsured children, and it prohibits States from covering families with incomes above $51,000.
3. It contains adequate enforcement to ensure that only US citizens are covered.

Opponents recommend voting NO because:

Rep. DEAL: This bill [fails to] fix the previous legislation that has been vetoed:

• On illegal immigration: Would the verification system prevent an illegal alien from fraudulently using another person's name to obtain SCHIP benefits? No.
• On adults in SCHIP: Up to 10% of the enrollees in SCHIP will be adults, not children, in the next 5 years, and money for poor children shouldn't go to cover adults.
• On crowd-out: The CBO still estimates there will be some 2 million people who will lose their private health insurance coverage and become enrolled in a government-run program.

Veto message from President Bush:

Like its predecessor, HR976, this bill does not put poor children first and it moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction. Ultimately, our goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage--not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage. As a result, I cannot sign this legislation.

Voted NO on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D.

Proponents support voting YES because:

This legislation is an overdue step to improve part D drug benefits. The bipartisan bill is simple and straightforward. It removes the prohibition from negotiating discounts with pharmaceutical manufacturers, and requires the Secretary of Health & Human Services to negotiate. This legislation will deliver lower premiums to the seniors, lower prices at the pharmacy and savings for all taxpayers.

It is equally important to understand that this legislation does not do certain things. HR4 does not preclude private plans from getting additional discounts on medicines they offer seniors and people with disabilities. HR4 does not establish a national formulary. HR4 does not require price controls. HR4 does not hamstring research and development by pharmaceutical houses. HR4 does not require using the Department of Veterans Affairs' price schedule.

Opponents support voting NO because:

Does ideological purity trump sound public policy? It shouldn't, but, unfortunately, it appears that ideology would profoundly change the Medicare part D prescription drug program, a program that is working well, a program that has arrived on time and under budget. The changes are not being proposed because of any weakness or defect in the program, but because of ideological opposition to market-based prices. Since the inception of the part D program, America's seniors have had access to greater coverage at a lower cost than at any time under Medicare.

Under the guise of negotiation, this bill proposes to enact draconian price controls on pharmaceutical products. Competition has brought significant cost savings to the program. The current system trusts the marketplace, with some guidance, to be the most efficient arbiter of distribution.
Status: Cloture rejected Cloture vote rejected, 55-42 (3/5ths required)

Voted YES on limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000.

Proponents of the motion recommend voting YEA because:
• Many doctors have had to either stop practicing medicine due to increased insurance premiums.
• Patients are affected as well--due to rising malpractice rates, more and more patients are not able to find the medical specialists they need.
• The cost of medical malpractice insurance premiums are having wide-ranging effects. It is a national problem, and it is time for a national solution.
• I am pleased that S. 22 extends liability protections to all health care providers and institutions.
• These bills are a commonsense solution to a serious problem, and it is time for us to vote up or down on this legislation.

Opponents of the motion recommend voting NAY because:
• We have virtually no evidence that caps on economic damages will actually lower insurance rates. And in my view, these caps are not fair to victims.
• If we want to reduce malpractice insurance premiums we must address these problems as well as looking closely at the business practices of the insurance companies. What we shouldn't do is limit the recovery of victims of horrible injury to an arbitrarily low sum.
• This is obviously a complicated issue. This is the kind of issue that needs to be explored in depth in our committees so that a consensus can emerge. So I will vote no on cloture, and I hope that these bills will go through committees before we begin floor consideration of this important topic.

Voted NO on expanding enrollment period for Medicare Part D.

Voted NO on increasing Medicaid rebate for producing generics.

Voted NO on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drug.

Voted YES on limiting medical malpractice lawsuits to $250,000 damages.

Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients.

Voted YES on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs.

Voted YES on small business associations for buying health insurance.

Voted YES on capping damages & setting time limits in medical lawsuits.

Voted YES on allowing suing HMOs, but under federal rules & limited award.

Voted YES on subsidizing private insurance for Medicare Rx drug coverage.

Voted YES on banning physician-assisted suicide.

Voted YES on establishing tax-exempt Medical Savings Accounts.

Rated 11% by APHA, indicating a anti-public health voting record.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) is the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals in the world, representing more than 50,000 members from over 50 occupations of public health. APHA is concerned with a broad set of issues affecting personal and environmental health, including federal and state funding for health programs, pollution control, programs and policies related to chronic and infectious diseases, a smoke-free society, and professional education in public health.

The following ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

Establish a national childhood cancer database.

Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007 - A bill to advance medical research and treatments into pediatric cancers, ensure patients and families have access to the current treatments and information regarding pediatric cancers, establish a population-based national childhood cancer database, and promote public awareness of pediatric cancers.

Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to childhood cancer professional and direct service organizations for the expansion and widespread implementation of:
1. activities that provide information on treatment protocols to ensure early access to the best available therapies and clinical trials for pediatric cancers;
2. activities that provide available information on the late effects of pediatric cancer treatment to ensure access to necessary long-term medical and psychological care; and
3. direct resource services such as educational outreach for parents, information on school reentry and postsecondary education, and resource directories or referral services for financial assistance, psychological counseling, and other support services.

Repeal any federal health care takeover.

The Club for Growth's "Repeal-It!" Pledge for incumbents states, "I hereby pledge to the people of my district/state to sponsor and support legislation to repeal any federal health care takeover passed in 2010, and replace it with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government."

Expedited licensing for biosimilar products.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the licensing of biosimilar and interchangeable biological products.
• Allows any person to file an abbreviated biological product application with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires such applications to include information demonstrating a high degree of similarity or interchangeability between the biological product and the licensed biological product (reference product).
• Requires the Secretary to:
  1. approve an application and issue a license for a biosimilar product unless the Secretary finds and informs the applicant that the information in the application fails to demonstrate biosimilarity between the biological product and the reference product or the safety, purity, and potency of the biological product; and
  2. establish requirements for the efficient review, approval, suspension, and revocation of abbreviated biological product applications.
• Allows an applicant a determination as to the interchangeability of a product and its reference product based on whether a product can be expected to produce the same clinical result as the reference product in any given patient. Grants market exclusivity to any biological product that is determined to be interchangeable for a specified period.
• Sets forth provisions governing patent infringement claims involving comparable biological products and legal remedies to expedite the adjudication of patent infringement disputes.
• Extends the period for approval of biological products to allow for studies of the use of new biological products in the pediatric population.

Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care. Click here for a summary of all issue stances of David Vitter. Click here for a Wikipedia profile of David Vitter. Click here for a Ballotpedia profile of David Vitter. Click here for VoteMatch responses by David Vitter. Click here for issue positions of other LA politicians. Click here for LA primary archives. Click here for LA secondary archives.
Other governors on Health Care:			David Vitter on other issues:
LA Gubernatorial: Charles Boustany Eddie Rispone John Bel Edwards John Neely Kennedy Ralph Abraham LA Senatorial: Antoine Pierce Bill Cassidy Charles Boustany Foster Campbell John Fleming John Neely Kennedy Joseph Cao Rob Maness Thomas Clements	Gubernatorial Debates 2019: KY: Bevin(R) vs.Goforth(R,lost primary) vs.Adkins(D,lost primary) vs.Beshear(D) vs.Edelen(D,lost primary) LA: Edwards(D) vs.Rispone(R) vs.Abraham(R) vs.Kennedy(R,declined) MS: Bryant(R,retiring) vs.Foster(R) vs.Hood(D) vs.Reeves(R) vs.Waller(R) Gubernatorial Debates 2021: NJ: Murphy(D) vs.Ciattarelli(R) VA: Northam(D,term-limited) vs.Herring(D) vs.Chase(R) vs.Fairfax(D)	Gubernatorial Debates 2020: DE: vs.Carney(incumbent) vs.Williams(D) IN: vs.Holcomb(incumbent) vs.Melton(D) vs.Myers(D) MO: Parson(incumbent) vs.Galloway(D) vs.Neely(R) MT: Bullock(retiring) vs.Fox(R) vs.Perry(R) vs.Gianforte(R) vs.Stapleton(R) vs.Olszewski(R) vs.Neill(D) vs.Schreiner(D) vs.Cooney(D) vs.Williams(D) NC: Cooper(incumbent) vs.Forest(R) vs.Grange(R) ND: Burgum(incumbent) vs.Coachman(R) vs.Lenz(D) NH: Sununu(incumbent) vs.Volinsky(D) vs. fsFeltes(D) PR: Rossello(D) vs.Garced(D) vs.Pierluisi(D) UT: Herbert(retiring) vs.Huntsman(R) vs.Cox(R) vs.Burningham(R) vs.Newton(D) vs.Hughes(R) VT: Scott(incumbent) vs.Holcombe(D) vs.Zuckerman(D) WA: Inslee(incumbent) vs.Bryant(R) vs.Fortunato(R) WV: Justice(incumbent) vs.Folk(R) vs.Thrasher(R) vs.Vanover(D) vs.Smith(D) vs.Ron Stollings(D)	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Local Issues Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty Contact info: Email Contact Form Fax Number: 202-228-2577 Mailing Address: Senate Office SH-516, Washington, DC 20510