Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) https://debbiedingell.house.gov https://Twitter@RepDebDingell spoke at Altarum’s https://altarum.org “Center for Value in Health Care Symposium” with funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation https://www.rejf.org. Congresswoman Dingell told the attendees at the July 9 event that she is an active advocate for quality healthcare to meet the needs of the American population at a reasonable cost.
She said, “We have a moral responsibility to address the cost of healthcare in the U.S and we must bring together diverse and varied stakeholders to solve the current crisis related to healthcare costs.” She is familiar with navigating through the healthcare system during her late husband John Dingell’s illness.
Congresswoman Dingell is the lead co-sponsor on the latest House “Medicare for All” or single payer bill introduced this year. She wants to see this bill begin a national conversation on how to improve healthcare in the U.S.
One of her goals is to advocate for helping people obtain quality affordable healthcare that have pre-existing conditions. People with pre-existing conditions and serious medical issues need affordable health insurance. She realizes that ACA isn’t perfect but she still supports strengthening the Affordable Care Act.
A bipartisan bill was introduced in June led by Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO), Bob Latta (R-OH), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) to make more drugs are available to consumers over the counter and make it possible to get FDA’s approvals sooner when drugs need to be updated or need to be refined.
According to Dingell “This bipartisan bill ensures that the FDA has the authority and resources needed to make it possible for the FDA to act quickly if a safety concern is discovered. The legislation would also help the industry bring new innovative products to the market and also speed up the agency’s review and approval process for new over the counter drugs.”
Congresswoman Dingell is also Co-Chair of the “Assisting Caregivers Today Caucus” and Vice Chair of the “Task Force on Aging and Families”. She is truly invested in helping seniors and people with disabilities, receive long term care services and support in their homes and communities as opposed to living in institutional settings.
In a move to help people with severe financial issues, “The “Empowering Beneficiaries Ensuring Access and Strengthening Accountability Act of 2019” extends critical programs within Medicaid for 4.5 years.
The Act also includes the ‘Money follows the Person” program which provides grants to states to help Medicaid beneficiaries voluntarily transition from receiving long term care in an institutional setting to their homes or to another place in their community.
The goal for Congresswoman Dingell is to make it easier for seniors and the disabled to not only receive care in their preferred setting, but also to make it possible not to face bankruptcy or significant financial hardship.