FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 22, 2010

Contact: Ashley Glacel Phone: (202) 224-5364

KOHL STATEMENT ON WHITE HOUSE HEALTH

REFORM PROPOSAL
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on
Aging, released the following statement in reaction to the White House health reform proposal:

“The White House proposal contains many common-sense ideas that enjoy the
support of both Democrats and Republicans. It’s time for us to finish the job of
fixing a health system that leaves millions of Americans without access to the care
they need and our country on a path to unsustainable health care costs. I hope we
can move health reform forward in a cooperative, bipartisan manner.”

The White House proposal includes a number of provisions that are based on legislation
championed by Senator Kohl. Such provisions would:

• Reduce the number of pay-for-delay settlements that keep affordable generic drugs
off the market and out of reach for consumers. The Federal Trade Commission has
estimated that stopping these types of settlement agreements would save consumers at
least $35 billion over the next ten years. These provisions are based on the bipartisan
Preserve Access to Affordable Generic Drugs Act (S. 369), introduced by Senator Kohl
and cosponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Dick
Durbin (D-IL), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

• Require the disclosure of gifts and payments given to doctors from the
pharmaceutical, biologic, and medical device industries in order to expose conflicts of
interest that arise when physicians receive financial benefits from drug and device
makers. These provisions are based on the bipartisan Physician Payments Sunshine Act
(S. 301), introduced by Senators Kohl and Grassley.

• Improve nursing homes nationwide by providing consumers with more information

about individual nursing homes and their track record of care, offering the
government better tools for enforcing high quality standards, and encouraging homes to
improve on their own. These provisions are based on the bipartisan Nursing Home
Transparency and Improvement Act (S. 647), introduced by Senators Kohl and Grassley.

• Reform the Medicare physician reimbursement so that it rewards health care

providers based on the quality of care they provide. Under this proposal, states like
Wisconsin that achieve higher quality-to-cost ratios will receive an increased
reimbursement from Medicare. These provisions are similar to those found in the
bipartisan Medicare Payment Improvement Act of 2009 (S.1249), introduced by Senators
Kohl, Judd Gregg (R-NH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Russ Feingold (D-WI).
• Prevent those with violent or criminal histories from working with vulnerable elders
in long-term care settings through the creation of a comprehensive nationwide system
of background checks. These provisions are based on the bipartisan Patient Safety and
Abuse Prevention Act (S. 631), which expands a highly successful three-year pilot
program instituted in seven states that kept more than 9,500 serial predators out of the
long-term care workforce. S. 631 was introduced by Senators Kohl and Thad Cochran
(R-MS).

• Expand, train, and support the health care workforce focused on older adults. Parts
of the White House proposal are based on the Retooling the Health Care Workforce for
an Aging America Act (S. 245), introduced by Senators Kohl, Blanche Lincoln (D-AR),
and Bob Casey (D-PA).

• Provide states with incentives and flexibility to provide an increasing number of

Medicaid beneficiaries with cost-effective home and community-based (HCBS)
services. Parts of the White House proposal are based on the Home and Community
Balanced Incentives Act (S. 1256), introduced by Senators Kohl and Cantwell.

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