As the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., outlined his top priorities for the 110th Congress. Although Kennedy’s long-term goal for health care is universal coverage for the country, he says that in the immediate future he will promote expanding and improving coverage for more children under the Children’s Health Insurance Program and passing legislation that will allow the federal government to negotiate directly with drug companies for discounted drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Kennedy also intends to get the Wired for Health Quality Act passed to improve the quality and efficiency of health care through better health IT. And as a first step toward universal coverage, Kennedy said he will focus on expanding Medicare coverage in his Medicare for All bill. “In Massachusetts, all parts of the political spectrum came together to reach a solution that everyone could support, and that bipartisan spirit of compromise is a model for success in Washington, too,” Kennedy said in a statement.
