Sen. Patty Murray made several visits to Kitsap Peninsula in July to talk about the proposed health care reform. Murray is involved with the Affordable Health Choices Act as a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Her talks focused on issues related to the workforce, especially shortages of professionals in nursing, primary care and pediatrics compounded by the fact that a wave of nurses and physicians are fast-approaching retirement age.

At the Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, Murray used a forum format that included brief talks by local health care professionals. She told the audience, comprised of local healthcare and community leaders, that creating a healthcare reform without making sure there are qualified providers to take care of all the new patients is like building new schools without hiring new teachers.

Dr. Mark Adams, a Harrison thoracic surgeon and past president of the Washington State Medical Association, was one of the forum speakers. He said one of the reasons for the shortage in primary care physicians is the fee for service structure, which rewards for quantity and not quality. “If we’re going to cover the uninsured, who’s going to take care of them?” he said.

Murray briefly addressed the uphill battle regarding the Medicare reimbursement rates, which pay much higher in many states than in Washington. She said the issue is being hotly debated in the Senate, with states like New York and Florida, which have the highest reimbursement rates, in strong opposition.

Murray carried a similar message about an educated workforce when she visited St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor earlier in the day. She also visited the Navy hospital in Bremerton.