Military Health Care/Veterans 

Authored Transitional Health Care Legislation – This bipartisan measure provides 180 days of transitional health care to those soldiers who separate honorably from active duty and agree to serve in the Selected Reserves at no charge to the soldier.  The measure was approved by voice vote as an amendment to H.R. 5658, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009.

Fought for Increases in Veterans’ Health Care Funding – Supported, as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, the largest single increase in veterans’ health care funding in the 77-year history of the Veterans Administration.  Included in this increase are substantial funding levels to provide health care for veterans with traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, mental health care issues, and lost limbs.

Medicare

Fought to Reverse Physician Reimbursement Cuts – Supported H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, which prevents the pending 10 percent Medicare payment reduction for physicians, enhances Medicare preventive and mental health benefits, improves and extends programs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, and extends expiring provisions for rural and other healthcare providers.

Children’s Health Care 

Fought to Address SCHIP Shortfall – Worked with the House Democratic Leadership as a member of the House Appropriations Committee to secure $650 million to cover State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) shortfalls in Georgia and 13 other states.  The funding was included in H.R. 2206, the FY 2007 Supplemental Appropriations Act.

Fought to Improve Health Care Access for Children – Supported legislation to expand the SCHIP program to approximately 10 million children in need.  The SCHIP program provides health coverage to American children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid, but can not afford private insurance.

Fought for Childhood Cancer Research – Co-sponsored H.R. 1553, the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act, which authorizes $30 million a year over the next five years for pediatric cancer research and awareness initiatives.

Fought for Eye Examinations for Children – Co-sponsored H.R. 507, the Vision Care for Kids Act, which directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to states for children’s vision care, including comprehensive eye examinations by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist, and for vision correction.

Fought to Combat Childhood Obesity and Promote Nutrition – Co-sponsored legislation that calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update the nutrition standards for foods sold in school cafeterias alongside federally reimbursed school meals and would then apply those standards to foods sold on school grounds throughout the day (H.R. 1363); promotes the national recommendation of physical activity for children, families, and communities across the country (H.R. 2045); and requires that all schools, districts and states include the quantity and quality of Physical Education  in the “report cards” currently sent to parents (H.R. 3257).

Rural Health

Fought to Improve Rural Health Care System – Co-sponsored H.R. 2860, the Health Care Access and Rural Equity (H-CARE) Act, which authorizes health information technology grants for rural practitioners, provides flexibility in the number of beds Critical Access Hospitals are allowed to fill, requires prompt payment to rural pharmacies by Medicare prescription drug plans, ensures adequate rural representation on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, establishes a Rural Heath Quality Advisory Commission, raises Rural Health Clinic reimbursements to more appropriately cover costs, and extends several expiring Medicare adjustment payments for rural practitioners.

Community Health Centers

Fought to Improve the Community Health Centers Program – Co-sponsored H.R. 1343, the Health Centers Renewal Act of 2008, which reauthorizes the community health centers program for five years.  The community health centers program includes approximately 6,300 facilities throughout the country that serve 17 million uninsured or underinsured people per year.  In 2006, Georgia had 24 community health centers serving nearly 250,000 people.

Mental Health

Fought to End Discrimination for People With Mental Disabilities and Addiction Disorders – Co-sponsored H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, which grants greater access to mental health and addiction treatment and prohibits health insurers from placing discriminatory restrictions on treatment.

Fought for Mental Health Treatment in Schools – Co-sponsored H.R. 3430, the Mental Health in Schools Act, which provides competitive grants to local education agencies in order to assist them in providing comprehensive school-based mental health programs for students in K-12.

Fought for Treatment of Postpartum Depression – Co-sponsored H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, which assists community-based providers (including physicians and nurse midwives), educates women and their families about postpartum depression and offers the opportunity for new mothers to be screened during the first year of postnatal checkups.

Genetic Discrimination

Fought to Prohibit the Improper Use of Genetic Information – Co-sponsored H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits health insurance companies and employers from discriminating against people on the basis of genetic test results.

Workforce

Fought to Reduce Physician Shortage – Co-sponsored H.R. 410, the United States Physician Shortage Elimination Act, which provides scholarships to medical students and increases grants available to primary care facilities in shortage areas for the expansion of residency programs.  This bill also adds funding to the National Health Service Corps, the program that provides financial support to medical students and physicians who commit to practicing primary care in shortage areas.

Women’s Health

Fought for Women’s Health Research – Co-sponsored H.R. 1072, the Women’s Health Office Act, which provides permanent authorization for offices and positions of women's health in the federal health agencies.

Fought for Breast Cancer Research – Co-sponsored legislation to require insurance companies to provide a minimum 48-hour stay for patients undergoing mastectomies (H.R. 758), authorizes research grants regarding environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer (H.R. 1157), and requires that group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans provide coverage for annual mammography screenings for women 40 years of age or older (H.R. 2708).

Fought for Heart Disease Research in Women – Co-sponsored H.R. 1014, the Heart Disease Education, Analysis Research, and Treatment for Women Act, which helps ensure that heart disease and stroke are more widely recognized and more effectively treated in women.

Men’s Health

Fought for Prostate Cancer Research – Co-sponsored H.R. 2131, the Thomas J. Manton Prostate Cancer Early Detection and Treatment Act, which provides for a screening and treatment program for Prostate Cancer in the same manner as is provided for breast and cervical cancer.

Diabetes 

Fought for Diabetes Research – Co-sponsored H.R. 2210, the Diabetes Access and Care Act, which promotes research, treatment, and education regarding diabetes in minority populations.