Bennet cites Colorado examples in Senate plea for health-care reform - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Coloradans, he said, "speak for countless othersz acrossthe nation. All they ask for is a health care systej that worksfor them, a health care system that doesn’t crush them with unreasonablre cost increases, and a health care system that doesn’t deny them coveragw just because they have pre-existiny conditions." Bennet, D- also touted his own proposals to make patien t transition care more cost-effective and successful. "Inh Colorado, we haven’t waited on he said. "We’ve made real progress in showing how to providde high quality health care at alower cost.
" formerly superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, was appointe d to the Senate by Gov. Bill Rittedr to fill the seat vacated by Ken Salaza when Salazar was picked by President Baracmk Obama as secretary ofthe Interior. Here is the full text of Bennet'a Senate-floor speech as prepared for delivery Thursday, providw by his staff. In the speech, he is addressinfg the president ofthe Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the urgent need for healthcare reform. The peoplew of Colorado, and the Americah people, have waited for too long for Washingtomto act. We shoulrd begin with a basic principle: if you have coveragd and you like 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 soaring health care costs and the lack of access to affordable, quality healthg care. The status quo is unacceptable. Everyu day, families in Colorado and acrosxs America facerising premiums. Their plans offer fewer benefits. They are denied coveragr becauseof pre-existing conditions. And untilo we fix the health care system, we won’t be able to fix the fiscakl mess in which wefind ourselves. Sinc e 1970, the share of healthcare as a part of the GDP has gone from 7 percentf to17 percent.
The United States spendxs over $2 trillion in health care costs, includiny over $400 billion on Medicare alone. President Obama has said that the biggesft threat toour nation’s balance sheet is the skyrocketinyg cost of health care. And he’s right. In Colorado, we haven’g waited on Washington. We’ve made real progress in showinfg how to provide high quality health care at alowerd cost. Last week, the New Yorket magazine published an articlweentitled “The Cost Conundrum” that highlightws the important work that’s been done in Mesa Colorado.
Over thirty years ago this communituyserving 120,000 people came together—doctors, and the non-profit healtjh insurance company. They agreed upon a system that paid doctors and nurses for seeinv patients and producing betterquality care. They realized that problemsz and costs go down when care is more InMesa County, the city of Graned Junction implemented an integrated healthg care system that provides follow-up care with patients. This follow-u p care has helped lower hospital readmissions rates in Grand Junctionh to just 3 Compare that to the 20 percent rate and it is clear that our community on the Wester Slope of Colorado is ontosomething groundbreaking.
High readmission rate are a huge problem forour seniors. Nearly one in five Medicared patients who leave a hospital are readmitted withi n thefollowing month, and more than three-quarters of thes readmissions are preventable. Rehospitalization costs Medicareover $17 billion a It’s painful for patients and families to be caughtg up in these cycles of treatment. All too care is fragmented – you go from the to the hospital, to a nursinhg home, back to the hospital and then back to thedoctot again. Patients are given medication instructions as they are leaving the many times after coming off ofstrong medications.
They don’tt know whom to call, and they are not sure what to ask theird primarycare doctor. The solution, both our Denver and Mesa Count health communitieshave found, is to providse patients leaving the hospital with a “coach.” This coacu is a trained health professional connecting home and the hospital. This coachh teaches patients how to manage their health ontheitr own.