Back At It – Sen. Max Bacus

Dear Friends,

August was a great month. It was great to be back home and meet with people across the state. Whether it was talking one-on-one with folks at Hardees, or the Western Montana fair, or talking with thousands of Montanans at tele-town halls or call in radio shows- I was able to listen, first-hand, to the concerns on peoples’ minds.

It’s abundantly clear that health care was number one on most folks’ lists. And while not everyone agreed on how we should reform the system, almost everyone agreed that we must do something.

Making Health Care Reform Right For Montana

Before I went home for August, I spent months working with my colleagues to craft a reform bill that is right for our state and right for our nation. And now, after gathering valuable input from Montanans, we are back at work.

And we are getting down to the brass tacks. While there is still work to do, I wanted to let you know what the bill that we have been working on will do.

The bill that I am working on will:

• Preserve choice so every American can keep their own doctor and choose their own health plan
• Make sure people with pre-existing conditions won’t be denied coverage
• Provide tax credits to small businesses
• Reduce health care costs and expand affordable options
• Deliver coverage to tens of millions of Americans
• Lower prescription drug costs dramatically for seniors
• Tackle fraud, waste and abuse that plagues the health care system

Busting Myths

This bill will do a lot for Montanans. But I also want to be clear about what it won’t do. I spent a lot of time in the state “busting” myths regarding health care. Some of the main myths I heard were:

• Health Care reform will cut Medicare benefits for seniors…..FALSE. Health Care reform will mean more and better Medicare services for seniors.

• Health Care reform will add a trillion dollars to the debt…..FALSE. Health care reform will be totally paid for. It will not add one thin dime to our national debt.

• Health Care reform will put a bureaucrat in charge of my health care………FALSE. Health Care reform will give you more choices to you can pick the care that’s best for you and your family.

• Health care reform is being rushed…….FALSE. I have been working on health care reform for more than a year. I’ve held more than 40 meetings in Montana. We are ready and it’s time to act.

• Health care reform will give coverage to illegal immigrants….FALSE. Illegal immigrants will not be covered by health care reform.

• Health care reform will create “death panels”…….FALSE. Health Care reform will absolutely not create death panels.

Now is the Time

It’s critical to focus on what health care reform will do for every Montanan and every American.

The bottom line is this: we need to get health care reform done. We need to get it done soon and we need to get it done right.

I want to say thank you to the thousands of Montanans who have offered their input on health care reform, and if you have an idea, please drop me a note at http://www.Baucus.senate.gov.