Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Medicare Advantage Marketing Reform
Wyden: Reform is Needed to Fix America's Broken Health Care System
WASHINGTON, DC - Reaching out to key players in the debate over comprehensive health care reform, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) spoke today at the 2008 American Hospital Association Annual Meeting about the Healthy Americans Act (S. 334), the first bipartisan, comprehensive health reform bill in more than 13 years.Wyden spoke about the mounting set of problems hospitals face:"Hospital administrators wrestle with the same huge problems every day: increasing amounts of bad debt, growing … Continue Reading
March 05, 2008
Speech: Wyden Addresses America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) 2008 National Policy Forum
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) delivered the following speech before the America's Health Insurance Plans 2008 National Policy Forum on Wednesday, March 5, 2008.In less than a year, America will watch a new president be sworn into office, and exactly one year from now that new president will be on day 44 of their first 100 days - their so-called "honeymoon" with the public. I don't think that I have to tell you, that for the cause of health care reform, those 100 days will be very important.I … Continue Reading
February 22, 2008
Oregon Medical Association Announces Endorsement of Senator Ron Wyden's Healthy Americans Act
Portland, OR - The 7,300-member Oregon Medical Association today announced its endorsement of Oregon Senator Ron Wyden's Healthy Americans Act that would provide health care to all Americans."The Healthy Americans Act is a bi-partisan bill that provides an opportunity to bring health care policy in the United States in line with the rest of the industrialized world," OMA President Klaus Martin, M.D. said at a joint news conference with Senator Wyden and other OMA officials. "Our endorsement is … Continue Reading
July 11, 2007
Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation will Help National Guard and Reserve Physicians Serving Overseas
Washington, DC - In an effort to help National Guard and Reserve physicians maintain their practices during lengthy overseas deployments, members on both sides of the aisle and in both houses of Congress introduced legislation today that would exempt physicians serving in the Armed Forces overseas from a Medicare law that currently places a 60 day restriction on the amount of time one physician can fill in for a colleague on a leave of absence. This limit creates serious hardship for … Continue Reading
April 06, 2007
Wyden Statement on White House Veto Threat to Proposed Medicare Drug Reforms
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released the following statement this evening following the President's threat to veto legislation seeking to reform the Medicare prescription drug benefit:"Spiraling costs and the low levels of participation we've seen so far may jeopardize the survival of the hard-won Medicare drug benefit. Ignoring those obvious problems and threatening to veto any solutions isn't a productive or responsible reaction. Making changes to contain costs and … Continue Reading
April 04, 2007
Snowe, Wyden Act to Require HHS Secretaryto Negotiate or Medicare Prescription Drugs
Washington D.C. - U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), both members of the Senate Finance Committee, are slated tomorrow to introduce legislation to make the Medicare program a "smarter shopper" by requiring the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate with drug companies for prices under certain circumstances."The rapidly escalating price of prescription drugs threatens to undermine the very drug benefit Congress passed to deliver real savings to … Continue Reading
December 06, 2006
Wyden, Snowe Urge HHS Secretary Leavitt to Support Extension of Medicare Drug Benefit Deadline Without Penalty
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), both members of the Senate Finance Committee, urged Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt to support an extension without penalty of the enrollment period for those seniors signing up for the Medicare Drug Benefit through December 31st of this year. The Senators are concerned that without an extension, the cost to seniors could be devastating, leading many to not sign up for the benefit and … Continue Reading
December 06, 2006
Snowe, Wyden Urge HHS Secretary to Reconsider Position to Allow Negotiation for Medicare Prescription Drugs
Washington, D.C. Following criticism by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt that allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices would create government run health care and fail to lower prices, U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) today urged Leavitt to reconsider his position in the wake of building momentum to take this step to bring lower drug prices for seniors.We believe sound management of the [Medicare] program would mean … Continue Reading
December 04, 2006
Wyden Introduces Budget Amendment to Allow HHS SecretaryTo Negotiate for Prescription Drugs
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today introduced an amendment to the Budget Reconciliation Act that would strengthen the drug coverage offered to seniors under the 2003 Medicare prescription drug benefit. The amendment, offered with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), is based on the Medicare Enhancement for Needed Drugs (MEND) legislation Wyden and Snowe introduced earlier this … Continue Reading