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Elizabeth Warren on Health Care
Massachusetts Senator; head of CFPB
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For-profit insurance is not working for Americans
Q: Your opening statement? DELANEY: Folks, we have a choice. We can go down the road that Senator Sanders and Senator Warren want to take us, which is with bad policies like Medicare-for-all. But we don't have to go around and be the party of
subtraction, and telling half the country, who has private health insurance, that their health insurance is illegal.
WARREN: Let's be clear about this. We are the Democrats. We are not about trying to take away health care from anyone.
That's what the Republicans are trying to do. And we should stop using Republican talking points in order to talk with each other about how to best provide that health care. The basic profit model of an insurance company is taking as much money as you ca
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
, Jul 30, 2019
No God-given right to suck billions in healthcare profit
Q: No private insurers in Medicare-for-All?WARREN: We have to think in terms of the big frame. Washington works great for the wealthy, who can hire armies of lobbyists. And it keeps working great for the insurance companies. What it's going to take
is real courage to fight back against them. These insurance companies do not have a God-given right to make $23 billion in profits and suck it out of our health care system.
Rep. John DELANEY: We need to have solutions that are workable. Can you
imagine if we tried to start Social Security now but said "private pensions are illegal?" That's the equivalent of what Senator Warren is proposing with health care.
WARREN: He talks about solutions that are workable. We have tried the solution of
private insurance companies. They've sucked billions of dollars out of our health care system. They've made everybody fill out dozens of forms. Why? Not because they're trying to track your health care. They just want one more excuse to say no.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
, Jul 30, 2019
Medicare-for-All would prevent many people from going broke
I spent a big chunk of my life studying why families go broke. One of the number-one reasons is the cost of health care, medical bills. That's not just for people who don't have insurance.
It's for people who have insurance. Look at the business model of an insurance company. It's to bring in as many dollars as they can in premiums and to pay out as few dollars as possible for your health care.
That leaves families with rising premiums, rising copays, and fighting with insurance companies to try to get the health care that their doctors say that they and their children need.
Medicare for all solves that problem. Health care is a basic human right, and I will fight for basic human rights.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
, Jun 26, 2019
$23B in insurance profits means they want no change
The insurance companies last year alone sucked $23 billion in profits out of the health care system. That doesn't count the money that was paid to executives, the money that was spent lobbying Washington.
We have a giant industry that wants our health care system to stay the way it is, because it's not working for families, but it's sure as heck working for them. It's time for us to make families come first.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
, Jun 26, 2019
Co-sponsored Medicare-for-All
Medicare For All:
Co-sponsored Bernie Sanders' bill in September 2017.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
, May 8, 2019
$100 billion in multi-faceted program on opioid addiction
Opioid crisis: Proposed a $100 billion plan over the next 10 years to fund first responders, public health departments and states for prevention and rehabilitation services.
Warren fired shots at Big Pharma and Congress for choosing "greed" over the best interest of the American public.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
, May 8, 2019
Start with prescription drugs, then negotiate single payer
When we're talking about health care in America right now, the first thing we need to be talking about is defend the Affordable Care Act.
Let's bring down the cost of prescription drugs all across this country. We can import drugs from Canada where the safety standards are the same.
We can negotiate the prices under Medicare. I've got a proposal to help bring down the cost on generic drugs, which could be about 90 percent of all prescriptions.
What's key is we get everybody at the table on this and we figure out how to do Medicare for all in a way that makes sure that we're going to get 100 percent coverage in this country at the lowest possible cost for everyone.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
, Mar 18, 2019
Too many huge federal giveaways to the drug industry
Senator Elizabeth Warren railed against the 21st Century Cures, saying the bill had been "hijacked" by the pharmaceutical industry. "I cannot vote for this bill,'' Warren said. "I will fight it because I know the difference between compromise and
extortion."The current legislation includes $500 million for the FDA, well below the amount Democrats had sought. Warren and Washington Senator Patty Murray have long argued that they would only support Cures legislation that included
significant investment in basic medical research. While Warren said she supported many of the provisions, she called others "huge giveaways" to the drug industry.
Warren cited several measures she viewed as especially outrageous. One would roll back
requirements for doctors to report some "Sunshine Act" payments from drug companies. The provision would exempt companies from disclosing fees given doctors for receiving continuing medical education sessions, medical journals, or textbooks.
Source: Warren (D, MA ) on 21st Century Cures Act in StatNews.com
, Nov 28, 2016
Insurance isn't on/off: real coverage vs. faux coverage
Health insurance isn't an on-off switch, giving full protection to everyone who has it. There is real coverage and there is faux coverage.
Policies that can be cancelled when you need them most are often useless.
So is bare-bones coverage like the Utah Medicaid program pioneered by new Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt; it pays for primary care visits but not specialists or hospital care.
We need to talk about quality, durable coverage, not just about how to get more names listed on nearly-useless insurance policies.
Source: Quotable Elizabeth Warren, by Frank Marshall, p.135
, Nov 18, 2014
Obvious solution is universal single-payer healthcare
We approach the health care debates from a single perspective: maintaining the financial stability of families confronting illness or injury.
The most obvious solution would be universal single-payer health care.
Source: Quotable Elizabeth Warren, by Frank Marshall, p.139
, Nov 18, 2014
No Medicare vouchers and no privatization
Too many have been using scare tactics when it comes to Social Security. Social Security can pay 100% of benefits for at least the next twenty years. Instead of taking on special interests, too many politicians have proposed privatizing
Medicare, turning it into a voucher program, or cutting it altogether. I will not support privatizing Medicare, turning it into a voucher program, or cutting benefits.
Source: Quotable Elizabeth Warren, by Frank Marshall, p.148
, Nov 18, 2014
Healthcare costs higher now than in 1970s
In "The Two-Income Trap" we compare health care costs for a typical family of 4 and found that the average family was paying $1,650 more for insurance in 2000 than in the early 1970's, adjusted for inflation (p.50). The cost of college at a public
university nearly doubled during this period (p.42). We discuss the growing importance--and the growing costs--of preschool education (pp.37-38).The Center for Responsible Lending reports that over the past decade, the trends we noted in "The Two-
Income Trap" continued to worsen, as costs for many basic expenses continued to climb relative to incomes for middle-class families. "The declining real incomes of the last decade would not have been so hard on families if the cost of maintaining a
household had also remained unchanged. Instead, families were faced with increases in basic non-discretionary expenses like housing, transportation, medical care, & utilities, with no growth--or sometimes even decreases--in income to pay for these items.
Source: A Fighting Chance, by Elizabeth Warren, p.289-90
, Apr 22, 2014
ObamaCare provides free preventive care for women
As two important provisions of the Affordable Care Act reform go into effect today, U.S. Senate candidate and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren praised the positive benefits that the health care reform law is providing to women and families across the
Commonwealth. "By ensuring that insurance companies cover key preventive health services free of charge, the Affordable Care Act is already providing real benefits to women and families here in Massachusetts and across the country," said Warren.
As of today, August 1st, whenever insurance plans come up for their annual renewal, the companies will be required to cover key preventive services for women free of charge. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
approximately 47 million women nationwide, including over 1.2 million Massachusetts women, are in health plans that must cover these new preventive services without charging a co-pay, co-insurance, or deductible.
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
, Aug 1, 2012
No privatizing Medicare, nor voucher program
Too many have been using scare tactics when it comes to Social Security. Social Security can pay 100% of benefits for at least the next 20 years. Instead of taking on special interests, too many politicians have proposed privatizing
Medicare, turning it into a voucher program, or cutting it altogether. I will not support privatizing Medicare, turning it into a voucher program, or cutting benefits.
Source: Boston Globe questionnaire on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
, Jul 11, 2012
Supports the President's Affordable Care Act
I support the Affordable Care Act. Thanks to the new law, insurance companies cannot discriminate based on pre-existing conditions, 2.5 million young adults are now covered by health insurance through their parents' plan and more than
100 million people no longer have a lifetime limit on their insurance. Going forward, Congress should focus more on lowering costs. That's what I'll do as a U.S. Senator."
Source: MassLive.com, "Weigh in on Supreme Court"
, Mar 24, 2012
Medical problems cause 750,000 bankruptcies each year
Should you purchase a disability insurance policy, just in case? Or long-term care insurance? When everyone is healthy, the thought of disability can seem like a remote possibility, a bad dream that strikes others, not busy families
with young children. But the fact remains: Medical problems send three-quarters of a million families to the bankruptcy courts each year. So think about more insurance. If you never use it, then count yourself lucky.
Source: The Two Income Trap, by Elizabeth Warren, p. 166
, Oct 15, 2007
Opposes repealing ObamaCare.
Warren opposes the CC Voters Guide question on ObamaCare
Christian Coalition publishes a number of special voter educational materials including the Christian Coalition Voter Guides, which provide voters with critical information about where candidates stand on important faith and family issues.
The Christian Coalition Voters Guide summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Repealing "Obamacare" that forces citizens to buy insurance or pay a tax"
Source: Christian Coalition Voter Guide 12-CC-q5a on Oct 31, 2012
Keep ObamaCare's prevention, treatment, & recovery services.
Warren signed keeping ObamaCare's prevention, treatment, & recovery services
Excerpts from Letter from 20 Senators to President Trump: Repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with no clear plan for replacement will substantially worsen the opioid epidemic. Last year, Congress took important steps to address this national public health crisis, enacting two bipartisan laws to address the opioid epidemic and reform the way our health system treats mental health and substance use disorders.
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act improved access to substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services. It promoted the use of best practices when prescribing opioid pain-killers, strengthening state prescription drug monitoring programs, and expanding access to the life-saving drug naloxone.
The 21st Century Cures Act also included critical mental health and substance use disorder reforms, strengthening enforcement of mental health parity laws, promoting the integration of physical and mental health care. Most importantly,
the 21st Century Cures Act dedicated $1 billion in new grant funding, which will be essential to helping states provide prevention, treatment, and recovery services to patients These bipartisan advances will be fundamentally undermined by repeal of the ACA.
Opposing argument: (Warren, D-MA, in StatNews.com, 11/28/2016): Senator Elizabeth Warren railed against the 21st Century Cures, saying the bill had been "hijacked" by the pharmaceutical industry. "I cannot vote for this bill,'' Warren said. "I will fight it because I know the difference between compromise and extortion." The current legislation includes $500 million for the FDA, well below the amount Democrats had sought. Warren and Washington Senator Patty Murray have long argued that they would only support Cures legislation that included significant investment in basic medical research. While Warren said she supported many of the provisions, she called others "huge giveaways" to the drug industry.
Source: Letter Regarding Fighting the Opioid Crisis 17LTR-ACA on Feb 3, 2017
Page last updated: Aug 03, 2019