Congressman Luis Fortuño please do something for us MS patients in Puerto Rico.

Norma Vazquez

PROJECT %u201CVIDA INDEPENDIENTE DE AMIGOS CON ESCLEROSIS MULTIPLE%u201D

(VIDACEM)

H5 San Patrico Ave,402

Guaynabo,PR. 00968-3214

Subject: Letter to Resident Commissioner in Washington, D.C for Puerto Rico-Honorable Congressman Luis G. Fortuño:

On behalf of the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Community of Puerto Rico which I'am part of, please accept my thanks and congratulations for the work you have being doing when joined with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), José Serrano (D-NY) and Hilda Solís (D-CA)  in introducing H.R. 2736, which seeks to alleviate the current deficiency of funds that has been affecting HIV/AIDS patients in the island, whom are currently neglected from receiving suitable health services and medications. . Reforming our nation%u2019s health care policies to ensure that everyone has access to affordable health care has long been a priority of the political party you represent.

The MS Group%u2019s in PR are outreaching across the country to involve ordinary Americans in the policy debate and make sure their views are presented to policy makers in Washington which I believe is a necessary and invaluable step towards real change. Whith this in mind, on November 16-20 we will be presenting a project through CADECOM, a Comunity based program to assist more then 100,000.00 young adults in Puerto Rico that are not being serviced by any entity nor public or private to ensure them:

• Respect for life. Whether it preserves and enhances the integrity and dignity of human life from the moment of diagnosis, to natural death.

• Priority Concern for the Poor. Whether it gives special priority to meeting the most pressing health care needs of the poor and underserved, ensuring that they receive quality health services.

• Universal Access. Providing ready universal access to comprehensive health care for every person living in the Island of Puerto Rico.

• Comprehensive Benefits. Providing comprehensive benefits sufficient to maintain and promote good health and quality of life; through preventive care; to treat disease, mental and physical disability appropriately; and to care for persons like us, who are chronically ill or confined for life to have a caregiver.

• Pluralism. Whether it allows and encourages the involvement of the public and private sectors, including the voluntary and nonprofit sectors, in the delivery of care and services; and whether it ensures respect for racial,political,religious and ethical values in the delivery of health care for consumers and for individual and institutional providers.

• Quality. Whether it promotes the development of processes and standards that will help to achieve quality and equity in health services, in the training of providers, and in the informed participation of consumers in decision making on health care.

• Cost Controls. Whether it creates effective measures to reduce waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary care; measures that control rising costs of competition and administration; and measures that provide incentives to individuals and providers for effective and economical use of limited resources.

• Equitable Financing. Whether it assures society%u2019s obligation to finance universal access to comprehensive health care in an equitable fashion, based on ability to pay; and whether proposed cost-sharing arrangements are designed to avoid creating barriers to effective care for the poor and vulnerable.

We are very pleased that the Working Groups%u2019 Interim Recommendations include a strong call for health care coverage for all with access to a core set of services, financial assistance to those who need it and protection from the high costs of catastrophic illness or injury. The most striking and encouraging information in the Interim Recommendations was the fact that over 90% of the people who responded during the Working Group%u2019s community meetings and on the internet poll agreed that affordable health care for all should be a public policy priority. For any reform to be genuine, it must provide access to comprehensive care to all, including those who currently are unable to get adequate health care or are at risk of losing access to health care because of, for example, limited resources, lack of education or language skills, immigration status, or residence in underserved rural or urban areas.

Defining the specifics of a core benefit package will be challenging. While it need not cover every and all treatments or procedures, it must include basic health care services essential for human life and dignity. The core benefits should be available to everyone. We would not support further progression toward a two-tiered system that segregates poor people, low-income working families, or other vulnerable people in an inadequate system or benefits structure.

We agree that integrated community health networks and a strong private/public partnership are critical elements of an effective health care system. A reformed health care system must encourage the creative and renewed involvement of both the public and private sectors, including voluntary, religious and nonprofit providers of care. It must also respect the religious and ethical values of individual and institutional participants in health care delivery. We also welcome the call to provide more effective palliative care, hospice care and end-of-life care. Our health care system must be structured to provide care when a cure is no longer possible,like in MS diagnossed patients. Effective management of the disease is critical toassure an excellent quality of life.

I hope these comments have been helpful and that the MS Communities Final Recommendations will reflect our own criteria for health care reform. Health care is a fundamental human right and reform of the local's health care system must be rooted in values that respect human dignity, protect human life, and meet the needs of the young adults affected by MS.

Sincerely,

Norma Vazquez