John Cornyn on Health Care Republican Jr Senator (TX)

End Congress' carve-out exemption from ObamaCare penalties

CORNYN: Well, there should be a negotiation, and this government would still be up and running in full if Harry Reid had allowed Democrats to vote to eliminate the congressional carve-out which treats them favorably under ObamaCare and to treat average Americans the same way the president has decided to treat business with regard to ObamaCare penalties.

Q: But isn't there something wrong when you say, "we won't fund the government unless I can attach my personal wish list to the legislation every time we vote"?

CORNYN: I know you can't reach an agreement and get past this impasse if the president won't negotiate. We've moved from the defund ObamaCare effort to eliminating this congressional carve-out, and eliminating the penalty on individual Americans like the president has done for businesses under ObamaCare.

Don't expand CHIP nationally until all Texans are covered

Cornyn said before expanding CHIP nationally he wants to make sure all eligible Texas children are signed up. Noriega said Cornyn voted multiple times against children's health insurance programs.

Freedom from health care tyranny & more individual choice

Supports prescription drug coverage for seniors

Rated 0% 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.

Remove restrictions on estriol (menopause medication).

A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the Food and Drug Administration`s (FDA) new policy restricting women`s access to medications containing estriol does not serve the public interest.

• Whereas menopause is often a challenging transition for millions of women that requires specialized medications and medical treatments;
• Whereas physicians prescribe a variety of pharmaceutical treatment options to treat women experiencing the symptoms of menopause;
• Whereas individual women respond differently to different treatment options;
• Whereas women`s physicians determine on a case-by-case basis which treatment option is optimal for each woman;
• Whereas many physicians prescribe compounded estrogen and other bioidentical hormone treatments for patients for a variety of reasons;
• Whereas many physicians prescribe compounded estrogen treatments that contain estriol to treat menopausal and perimenopausal women;
• Whereas estriol is one of three estrogens produced by the human body;
• Whereas estriol has been prescribed and used for decades in the United States;
• Whereas the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will no longer permit compounding pharmacists to prepare medications containing estriol pursuant to a doctor`s prescription;
• Whereas insurers are now denying women reimbursement for compounded medications containing estriol as a result of the FDA`s announcement; and
• Whereas the FDA has acknowledged that it is unaware of any adverse events associated with use of compounded medications containing estriol:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Congress that--
1. physicians are in the best position to determine which medications are most appropriate for their patients;
2. the FDA should respect the physician-patient relationship; and
3. the FDA should reverse its policy that aims to eliminate patients` access to compounded medications containing estriol.