Essay About Patients Bill And Senator Daschle

Tom Daschle
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TOM DASCHLE
Tom Daschle was born into a working class family on December 9, 1947 in
Aberdeen, South Dakota. Tom was the eldest of four brothers and became the first to
graduate from college in 1969 with a political science degree form South Dakota State
University. After graduating college, Tom joined the United States Air Force Strategic
Air Command. Tom served three years as an intelligence officer. After the Air Force,
Tom became an aide to then South Dakota Senator James Abourezk.
In 1978 Tom was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served four
terms and soon became part of the Democratic Leadership. In 1979 he was elected Rocky
Mountain Regional Whip and from 1982-1986, Tom remained Whip-at-large. Tom
quickly gained a reputation for humility and a willingness to compromise. He also
became known to his critics as a wolfish partisan, whose strong opinions were only
partially disguised by a lambs demeanor.
In 1986, Tom ran for the U.S. Senate where he won a tough contest against the
incumbent James Abnor. After being elected, Tom received the honor of being appointed
to the Senate Finance Committee. Tom became the first South Dakota Senator to be
appointed a leadership position when in 1988, Senate Democratic Leader George
Mitchell selected Tom the first ever co-chair of the Democratic Policy Committee. Tom
Daschle was the first U.S. Senator to hire a full-time economic development director and
he also made it easier for South Dakotans to reach him by establishing a toll-free
telephone line to his office.
South Dakotans re-elected Tom to the Senate in 1992 and 1998. In addition to his
leadership duties, Tom also serves as a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee,
Veterans Committee, Indian Affairs Committee, Finance Committee, and the Ethic
Committee. Senator Daschle has insisted on fiscal responsibility and discipline from both
Congress and the White House. Urging his policy of fiscal responsibility, Senator
Daschle has advised Congress to use the unprecedented budget surpluses to pay down the
national debt, lock up Social Security and Medicare for future generations, cut taxes for
working families and invest in other important priorities such as agriculture, education,
crime fighting and healthcare. Tom has pushed for fair competition for family farmers
and ranchers and worked to make certain that quality education and healthcare are made
available to rural communities. Senator Daschle constantly fights for Veterans to get
them the benefits they deserve for their dedication to our country. Tom has also fought
for legislation protecting the rights of Native Americans. He has also ensured that rural
Americans are not left behind in the “New Economy”. He ensures this by fighting for
universal access to the latest technology and technical training. Senator Daschle has also
been a strong supporter of Community Oriented Policing Service or COPS, which has
been successful in bringing police officers closer to the communities they live in.
Senator Daschle supports a Patients Bill of Rights whereby power would be
transferred to the purchaser instead of the provider.
The central objectives of the Patients Bill of Rights are to ensure that:
Patients will have access to needed care
Doctors are free to practice medicine without improper HMO and insurance company interference
A health plans decision to deny care can be appealed by patients to an independent entity
Health plans are held accountable for their medical decisions that lead to harm
The Patients Bill of Rights allows patients to go to any emergency room during
a medical emergency, without having to call a health plan for permission. Emergency
room physicians can stabilize their patients and plan for a cure after stabilization without
fear that health plans will deny coverage. The Patients Bill of Rights ensures that
patients who suffer from a chronic condition or a disease that requires care by a
specialists will have access to a qualified specialist. If the HMO does not include
specialists qualified to treat a condition, such as a pediatric cardiologist to treat a childs
heart defect, it would have to allow the patient to see a qualified doctor outside its
network at no extra cost. The Patients Bill of Rights also allows patients with serious
ongoing conditions to choose