August '07 Nevada Government—Shelley Berkley Column

Champ: Berkley Backs Bill to Give Health Care to More Nevada Kids

Democratic Package Expands SCHIP, Strengthens
Medicare for Seniors

CONGRESSWOMAN SHELLEY BERKLEY (D-NV) today [August 1, 2007] expressed her support for The Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act. The legislation provides health care to millions of low-income children and improves Medicare for seniors in Nevada and nationwide.

"Nevada has 70,000 children who are eligible for insurance coverage through the federal SCHIP Program, but who are currently not enrolled. My hope is that when The CHAMP Act becomes law, that even more eligible families can receive coverage through the Nevada Check Up program," said Berkley.

"For Nevada parents whose children qualify for SCHIP, this program provides piece of mind by giving youngsters access to quality healthcare services. As a result of this package, Nevada will now be able to cover even more children who are uninsured. Given that Nevada has one of the highest percentages of uninsured families, this should come as welcome news for families living in Las Vegas and other communities throughout the Silver State," Berkley said.

The CHAMP Act reauthorizes the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and protects coverage for 6 million children, including nearly 30,000 in Nevada, while extending health care coverage to 5 million more low-income children, covering a total of 11 million children.

The bill also makes a number of needed updates and improvements to Medicare to ensure that Nevada seniors are receiving the preventive services, mental health care and physical, speech and occupational therapies they need.

"Nearly 100,000 low income seniors in Nevada will benefit from improvements in the Medicare Savings Program and Low Income Subsidy Program as a result of this legislation," said Berkley. "Passing this bill is also necessary to ensure access to physicians for Medicare patients. The CHAMP Act will prevent harmful cuts in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients. We should not be asking America's physicians to lose money every time they treat a Medicare patient and this bill will stop a devastating 10% cut in reimbursement rates for our doctors. No amount of improvements to Medicare will matter if doctors are unable to serve their patients."

Additionally, the legislation ends massive overpayments to private health organizations like HMOs and makes a series of preventative screenings free for Medicare beneficiaries. New free benefits under Medicare provided under The CHAMP Act include:

diabetes screening tests
screening for glaucoma
an initial preventive physical examination
bone mass measurement
prostate cancer screening tests
colorectal cancer screening tests
mammography screening
pap smear screening

"Medicare beneficiaries deserve access to affordable preventive services, which improve health and reduce long-term costs. The CHAMP Act makes Medicare's preventive benefits more affordable by eliminating all co-payments and deductibles for these services. It also makes it easier for Medicare to add new preventive benefits," said Berkley.

Statement of Congresswoman Shelley Berkley Regarding the Investigation Into the Death of Pat Tillman

CONGRESSWOMAN SHELLEY BERKLEY today [August 1, 2007] released the following statement in response to findings in the investigation surrounding the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman and official actions taken by Army and Pentagon leaders following the friendly fire incident that claimed his life. Berkley's statement is as follows:

"As Americans, we continue to mourn Pat Tillman's death and our thoughts and prayers remain with his loved ones. The friendly fire incident that claimed his life is tragic. But what we have now learned about what occurred in its aftermath is truly unforgivable.

For the truth to be kept from Pat Tillman's family, even as they attended his funeral, is shameful.

The public trust has been shattered as a result of this incident. Disturbing questions remain about what was known, who was involved, and the true intent of this calculated campaign of deceit.

The answers that have been provided about the actions of Pentagon and military officials do not close the book on Pat Tillman's heartbreaking death.

The American people continue to be shocked by what has been done to the Tillman family and they feel misled, as do Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.

Nothing can give Pat Tillman back to those who loved him most. But there is no question about the need for stronger punishments for those who bear full responsibility for the injustices that have been committed and can never be undone.

Those responsible should not escape with mere censure or the loss of a star or a few dollars in pay.

Those guilty of these acts should be stripped of their titles and made to pay a price in line with the actions they took that have destroyed the credibility of Army leadership and for inflicting continued suffering on the Tillman family.

The investigation into this scandal must continue and Congress should learn a lesson never to be repeated from what has already occurred. We owe it to our men and women in uniform whose leaders have failed them, to military families concerned this could happen to them, and to the memory of those who have fought and died for this nation.

What must now emerge from the layers of lies and mistakes that were meant to bury this shameful episode is one thing above all else: accountability. Congress must learn its lesson and vow today that the actions that were taken following the tragic loss of Pat Tillman must never be allowed to happen again."