Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says he’s "very excited" by the host of proposed health care reforms being discussed in Congress and by the Obama administration.
Harkin, a Democrat, will be in Iowa for a town hall meeting this weekend to share more details of what’s brewing.
"This is something I’ve hoped for for a long time," Harkin says. "I’ve been trying to get some changes in health care going back to the early ’90s after that failure of the Clinton administration deal, but I’ve always been saying that we’ve gotta’ have prevention and wellness and here we’ve got it. We’ve got a huge, big deal in this health bill that will really start to change the way we do medicine in this country."
Harkin says the reforms that are being discussed will mean an end to what’s being done in the industry now, which he summarizes as "patch, fix and mend."
"There’s a lot of emphasis on keeping people healthy and providing for prevention, check-ups, screenings, things that will help people take charge of their own health care and have a healthier lifestyle," Harkin says. "I really think that this year, we could pass something that will change the very fabric of what we do in health care in this country."
Harkin is to appear with the national president of AARP to discuss health care reform in a town hall-style meeting at 10:30 AM Saturday in North Liberty. The forum will be followed by a wellness walk.