Jean Carnahan on Health Care

Medicare Rx plan;more breast cancer research

We [should] invest in our future, [with] a real patients’ bill of rights, and a prescription drug under Medicare, and that it was important to give targeted tax cuts to working families so they could send their child to school or they could care for an elderly parent or buy a home. I would have an additional commitment to some things involving women. I’m very concerned about breast cancer research, pay equity, child care. I would carry that additional commitment and even more intensely. Source: This Week with Cokie Roberts Nov 5, 2000

Supports Patient Bill of Rights

Jean Carnahan made speeches several days a week on her husband’s Senate campaign trail and worked on state legislation for better health care and education. She advocated the Equal Rights Amendment, gun control, & workplace child-care centers. “Democrats in Washington are struggling to save Social Security, to strengthen Medicare, to pay down the national debt, to provide a patient’s bill of rights and to give targeted tax cuts that don’t harm services to the neediest in our society,” she said. Source: Kevin Murphy, The Kansas City Star Nov 4, 2000

Voted YES on allowing importation of Rx drugs from Canada.

S. 812, as amended; Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act of 2002. Vote to pass a bill that would permit a single 30-month stay against Food and Drug Administration approval of a generic drug patent when a brand-name company's patent is challenged. The secretary of Health and Human Services would be authorized to announce regulations allowing pharmacists and wholesalers to import prescription drugs from Canada into the United States. Canadian pharmacies and wholesalers that provide drugs for importation would be required to register with Health and Human Services. Individuals would be allowed to import prescription drugs from Canada. The medication would have to be for an individual use and a supply of less than 90-days. Bill S.812 ; vote number 2002-201 on Jul 31, 2002

Voted YES on allowing patients to sue HMOs & collect punitive damages.

Vote to provide federal protections, such as access to specialty and emergency room care, and allow patients to sue health insurers in state and federal courts. Economic damages would not be capped, and punitive damages would be capped at $5 million. Bill S1052 ; vote number 2001-220 on Jun 29, 2001

Voted NO on funding GOP version of Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Vote to pass an amendment that would make up to $300 billion available for a Medicare prescription drug benefit for 2002 through 2011. The money would come from the budget's contingency fund. The amendment would also require a Medicare overhaul. Bill H Con Res 83 ; vote number 2001-65 on Apr 3, 2001

Invest funds to alleviate the nursing shortage.

Carnahan sponsored the Nurse Reinvestment Act

Amends Medicare to provide for nurse education training payments to qualified entities.
Amends Medicaid to temporarily increase the matching rate for Medicaid nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the exclusion from gross income of amounts received under the National Nursing Service Corps Scholarship Program.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) develop and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the nursing profession, highlight the advantages and rewards of nursing, and encourage individuals from diverse communities and backgrounds to enter the nursing profession; and (2) award grants to designated eligible educational entities in order to increase the number of nurses.
Establishes a National Nurse Service Corps Scholarship program that provides scholarships to individuals seeking nursing education in exchange for service by such individuals in areas with nursing shortages. Authorizes appropriations.

Source: Bill sponsored by 39 Senators 01-S706 on Apr 5, 2001

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