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

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Coloradans, he said, "speak for countless others acrosathe nation. All they ask for is a healtj care system that worksfor them, a healtyh care system that doesn’ t crush them with unreasonabler cost increases, and a health care system that doesn’t deny them coverage just because they have pre-existinb conditions." Bennet, D- Colo., also toutexd his own proposals to make patient transition care more cost-effectivre and successful. "In Colorado, we haven’t waited on he said. "We’ve made real progres in showing how to provide high quality health care at alower cost.
" formerly superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, was appointedd to the Senate by Gov. Bill Ritter to fill the seat vacated by Ken Salazar when Salazar was picked by President Barack Obama as secretary ofthe Interior. Here is the full text of Bennet'ws Senate-floor speech as prepared for deliverh Thursday, provide by his In the speech, he is addressinfg the president ofthe Mr. President, I rise todag to discuss the urgent need for healthycare reform. The people of Colorado, and the America people, have waited for too long for Washingtonto act. We shoulcd begin with a basic if you have coverage and youlike it, you can keep it.
If you have your and you like himor her, you should be able to keep them as We will not take that choice away from you. But even as we keep what we must confront the challenges of soarinbg health care costs and the lack of access to affordable, quality health care. The status quo is Every day, families in Coloradpo and across America facerising premiums. Theier plans offer fewer benefits. They are denied coverage becausdof pre-existing conditions. And until we fix the healthy care system, we won’t be able to fix the fiscapl mess in which we find Since 1970, the share of healthcare as a part of the GDP has gone from 7 percenr to 17 percent.
The United State spends over $2 trillion in healt h care costs, including over $400 billion on Medicare President Obama has said that the biggestf threat toour nation’s balance sheet is the skyrocketingy cost of health care. And he’s In Colorado, we haven’t waitecd on Washington. We’ve made real progress in showinhg how to provide high qualitt health care at alower cost. Last week, the New Yorker magazine published an articleentitled “The Cost Conundrum” that highlights the importanyt work that’s been done in Mesa Colorado.
Over thirty years ago this communitygserving 120,000 people came together—doctors, and the non-profit health insurance company. They agreed upon a system that paid doctorss and nurses for seeing patients and produciny betterquality care. They realized that problemds and costs go down when care is more InMesa County, the city of Grandd Junction implemented an integratede health care system that provides follow-ul care with patients. This follow-up care has helpedc lower hospital readmissions rates in Grand Junction to just3 percent.
Comparwe that to the 20 percenrrate nationwide, and it is clear that our community on the Westernb Slope of Colorado is onto something High readmission rates are a huge problem for our Nearly one in five Medicare patients who leaver a hospital are readmitted within the followinv month, and more than three-quarters of these readmissions are Rehospitalization costs Medicare over $17 billion a It’s painful for patients and families to be caughr up in these cycles of treatment.
All too care is fragmented you go fromthe doctor, to the to a nursing home, back to the hospitak and then back to the doctor Patients are given medication instructions as they are leaviny the hospital, many times after coming off of strong medications. They don’rt know whom to call, and they are not sure what to ask theire primarycare doctor. The solution, both our Denvet and Mesa County health communitieshave found, is to provids patients leaving the hospital with a “coach.” This coach is a trainex health professional connecting home and the hospital. This coacyh teaches patients how to manage their health ontheir own.