Two senators recently discussed health care issues with constituents in their home states. Summaries appear below.Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas): Brownback on Wednesday at a Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce luncheon discussed a bill that he plans to introduce in the next few weeks to establish portable electronic health records for U.S. residents, the Wichita Eagle reports. The legislation would establish EHR databases, which would allow residents to carry cards that contain the information and make the information accessible nationwide. According to Brownback, the bill would reduce health care costs through the prevention of duplicate medical procedures and the reduction of medical errors. "This saves lives," Brownback said (Atwater, Wichita Eagle, 4/13).

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.): Thune on Tuesday at a health care roundtable at the Sioux Falls Convention Center called for reform of the U.S. health care system, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. According to Thune, health care spending currently accounts for 16% of the U.S. gross domestic product, or about $1.9 trillion, and likely will account for more than 25% within the next 20 years. The health care system is "not sustainable in its current form over time," Thune said, adding, "We are on the cusp of a fundamental decision on what could be a paradigm shift. Do we have market-based health care or go to a government system?" Thune also said that he expects health care reform to serve as a large part of the "big domestic policy debate" in the 2008 presidential election (Harriman, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 4/12).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.