Please do not respond to this email. To contact Congressman Burgess, use the "Write Your Rep" service. If you want to be removed from our email distribution list, please click here. NEWS   H.R. 4116, the Veterans Healthcare Stamp Act On Thursday, November 8, 2007, just three days before Veterans Day, Rep. Burgess introduced H.R. 4116, the… Read more »

  Timothy Johnson’s opinion piece in USA Today is just that – opinion, and a markedly biased one at that. Though the health care ‘right vs. privilege’ argument is old, it is not the question America faces today. Both the argument and Dr. Johnson’s solution of universal health care are vast oversimplifications within the larger health care landscape that we all agree needs reform. Yes,… Read more »

  With Medicare Part D, Congress delivered on a promise to the American people and passed a comprehensive Medicare prescription drug benefit for America’s seniors. It is the most significant improvement to Medicare coverage in 40 years – since Medicare was established in 1965. Enrollment began in January of this year, and I believe the program is proving itself to be a huge… Read more »

  American medicine – with apologies to Charles Dickens – it is the best of times…it is the worst of times. Great science and bad bureaucracy means that no one has a clear picture of the problems facing health care. Physicians do not get paid enough, patients pay too much, many people do not get any care at all, and everyone claims that someone else needs to change. Before we start… Read more »

 The Basics of Border Health U.S. Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX-26)Dr. Homer, President of the Texas Medical Association The U.S.-Mexico border is home to many of the crises that are featured across the front pages and evening newscasts—illegal immigration, human smuggling, drug trafficking, and gang violence. One of the gathering storms along the U.S. border that goes… Read more »

  The last few weeks has certainly seen a great deal written about the conflict in Iraq. The middle of next month will see the third popular election held in the country of Iraq this year. Stay the course -- or pull out now. These seem to be the two recurrent themes debated in the Halls of Congress and on editorial pages across the country. Our military action, which was never… Read more »

  All through the last several months there have been some big changes occurring in Medicare, changes which have been 40 years in the making. For the first time since its inception, Medicare now has available a prescription drug benefit. Original Medicare, back in the sixties, covered hospital bills and doctor charges. There was no provision for covering a patient’s… Read more »

 WASHINGTON TIMES . . . Cost information is essential By Michael C. BurgesPublished March 16, 2006 American patients are fortunate -- they have access to the greatest health care system in the world. Unfortunately for many, the cost to access that care can be prohibitively high. It is ironic that in the world's largest free-market economy, government control and a lack of… Read more »

We cannot continue to depend on leaders such as Hugo Chavez for our energy needs. I believe that Congress should dedicate itself to achieving energy independence by 2015. This is an ambitious goal; one which will require industry, policy makers, and Americans to think of innovative approaches to meet our energy needs. Our traditional energy sources will only get us so far; we can't drill… Read more »

For 40 years Medicare has provided some measure of health security for seniors after retirement. Beginning next year, some of the biggest changes are set to occur in the Medicare system, changes even bigger than when Medicare was first enacted into law in 1965. On January 1, 2006, Medicare will begin to offer a prescription drug benefit, and for the first time, it will place an… Read more »