Al Edwards Capitol Report & Legislative Update on KCOH Radio 1430 AM

I would like to invite you all to listen and participate in the latest installment of my bi-weekly radio program on KCOH Radio 1430 AM tomorrow August 25th from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

The Al Edwards Capitol Report and Legislative Update will air on this upcoming August 25th from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on KCOH Radio 1430 AM with scheduled special guest Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston. The program will run every other Tuesday morning at the same time slot, and it will cover the issues that impact you the most; including the hot topics, issues of interest from the State Legislature, and important local community issues just to name a few.

On the program we will touch on the recent Legislative session, including some of the bills that passed and some that did not pass, as well as, providing a recap on the recently concluded special session.

So please tune in to KCOH Radio 1430 AM or listen on the internet at: http://www.kcohradio.com/listenlive/default.asp beginning this Tuesday, August 25th from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. for an enlightening time you won't want to miss! And make sure you pass on the word!

Also I encourage you to call in to the show so that you can participate live on the air at 713.522.1001. The KCOH Studio is located at 5011 Almeda.

Best Wishes,
Al Edwards

DISTRICT 146 SCHOOL SUPPLY GIVEAWAY

BACK TO SCHOOL - SCHOOL SUPPLY GIVEAWAY!


Rep. Al Edwards of District 146 and Pastor Stevenson of the House of Prayer


We are having a back-to-school give away on Saturday, August 22, 2009 from 10:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. We are inviting you to participate. Please bring your identification and the school age youth with you to 8401 McLean, Houston, TX 77051 in order to collect the school supplies.

Sincerely,
Rep. Al Edwards
713.741.8800

Ms. Marsha Lister
Sunnyside Park
713.734.5061

Rep Al Edwards Stays One Step Ahead of President Obama's Goal for Encouraging More Primary Care Physicians in Healthcare Debate

At a recent Healthcare Town Hall meeting hosted by President Obama in North Carolina, President Obama touched on a largely unspoken but critical aspect to healthcare access that affects large portions of our population...the shortage of primary care physicians. Without access to primary care physicians and preventative healthcare many people unwisely let health issues escalate into danger zones, thereby stressing their health to limit, as well as their finances. Rep Edwards has taken the early lead in addressing this issue by passing Doctor Shortage Loan Assistance Legislation in the recent legislative session. Below is an excerpt of the exchange at the Town Hall on Healthcare by the President and further information below on the issue:

TOWN HALL ATTENDEE: "As the wife of a family physician, we see people not only coming into that specialty less and less often, but also leaving that specialty because it’s so, so hard as a young family to make that work — long hours, not great reimbursement, not great pay, with huge amounts of debt when you come out of medical school. So what are you thinking of to entice more people to come into that speciality? Because you can insure every person in America and if there’s not a physician there to see that person you still don’t have health care. So what are you going to do to entice people to come — (applause.)"

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "This is a great question. Just so everybody understands what we’re talking about here, it used to be that the most common type of doctor was the family physician. You’d go in and they knew you and they knew your family. And every once in a while you’d go to a specialist, but basically you were dealing with a family doctor. Increasingly, the economics of being a primary care physician or a family doctor is a bad deal for a lot of medical students, because they come out with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. But it turns out that a primary care physician...is probably more valuable to the person’s health and to the society as a whole (than a surgeon), but if it’s not rewarded, then fewer and fewer people go into that branch of medicine. If we pass health reform — when we pass health reform — then what we’re going to — (applause) — and more people now have access to the system, it is going to be vital that we increase the number of primary care physicians. The best way for us to do it is...to provide scholarships and financial incentives for young medical students who are willing to go into the primary care field...then we can change I think the incentives for a lot of doctors so that we get more and more primary care physicians."


ENTER HB 2154 by Rep Al Edwards
Under HB 2154, Rep Al Edwards has taken the first step towards helping the country's healthcare system and increasing the country's health as a whole by passing the historic Physician Loan Repayment Program- HB 2154. The bill, now law, will provide loan repayment assistance in an amount up to $160,000 in exchange for 4 years of service to primary care physicians who agree to serve in underserved areas of the state including inner cities and rural areas. This will help bring up to 900 new doctors to these urban and rural areas.

This bill is monumental because it precisely addresses the crisis at hand...Medical Students now face student loan debts sometimes in excess of $160,000 upon entering practice. Therefore the student end up choosing more highly paid specialties in order to pay off their debt. This bill will help pay off their debts in near totality for them, by simply having them commit to serve in doctor shortage areas, areas in dire need of doctors. This ends up being a win-win for both the doctors and the people in that area because now they are able to receive more of the critical preventive care which is forte of primary care physicians.

In fact, this helps in part solve the national healthcare crisis because preventive care has been proven to drastically reduce later health costs in the patient because it stems and could prevent illnesses from developing which ends costing the patient more pain, heartache, treatment and ultimately more money.

Healthy lives are the cornerstone of communities and we all must do our part to make our lives better. Rep Edwards has received awards across the state for his leadership and commitment to helping achieve these goals, and he should be applauded for doing his part to accomplish the goals set out by President Obama in the national healthcare debate.

Rep Al Edwards Earns Statewide Legislative Champion Award For Doctor Shortage Legislation

Houston, TX – August 11, 2009 - Houston’s Central Care Community Health Center hosted an event today to honor Rep. Al Edwards (D-Houston) for the historic Physician Loan Repayment measure he authored in the Texas Legislature.

Edwards was presented the Legislative Champion Award by the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC) for his work during the 81st Texas Legislature.

The program is designed to bring physicians to medically underserved areas of the state and also to provide a cut in the franchise tax for at least 40,000 small businesses in Texas. The measure emerged as one of the centerpiece bills of the 2009 legislative session.

“Physicians and health centers consider this new program to be the most significant legislation to pass in decades because of its potential to bring basic medical care to millions of Texans in the inner cities and rural areas of our state,” said TACHC Executive Director José E. Camacho. “Texans for years should know it was the dedication and tireless work of state Rep. Al Edwards that made Texas a healthier, more prosperous state.”

The legislation Edwards authored creates an enhanced physician loan repayment program. It will be available to primary care physicians who agree to practice in underserved areas of the state and will assist in paying off student loans amassed during medical school training. Medical school graduates carry a debt as high as $160,000 in student loans.

“The legislation was carefully crafted by Rep. Edwards to solve a very real problem in Houston. This is an incredibly important measure, and our health center is deeply indebted to Rep. Edwards for his leadership,” said Anganette Young, Executive Director of Central Care Community Health Center. “The impact of this program will truly be seen and felt in Houston.”

The Physician Loan Repayment Program is expected to bring up to 900 new doctors to urban and rural areas.

The proposal made it through an extremely challenging legislative session. In its final version, House Bill 2154 ultimately won overwhelming support in the Texas House and Senate. In June, Governor Rick Perry formally signed the physician loan repayment bill into law. The legislation becomes effective Sept. 1, 2009.

More than half of Texas counties are in need of primary care physicians. In 2008,
26 Texas counties had no primary care physician. More than 110 Texas counties – rural and urban – have been designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas, meaning those counties do not meet a minimum national threshold of one physician for every 3,500 people.

The event honoring Edwards coincides with National Health Center Week (Aug. 9-15). The week is dedicated to recognizing the service and contributions of community, migrant, homeless and public housing health centers in providing access to affordable, high quality, cost-effective health care to medically vulnerable and underserved people across the country. Texas is home to more than 60 such centers providing healthcare services to more than 250,000 people every year. Community health center organizations in operate close to 300 health care delivery sites and serve more than 770,000 patients every year.

About the TACHC
The Texas Association of Community Health Centers is a private, non-profit membership association that represents safety-net health care providers in Texas. Association members include Community and Migrant Health Centers, Health Care for the Homeless Grantees, Public Housing Primary Care Grantees, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Grantees, Health Center Networks and other providers who strive to meet the health care needs of the uninsured and underserved. TACHC serves as the primary care association for the state of Texas.

Al Edwards Capitol Report & Legislative Update on KCOH Radio 1430 AM on August 11, 2009

Dear Friends in the Community,

I would like to invite you all to listen and participate in a new bi-weekly radio program I will be having on KCOH Radio 1430 AM.

The Al Edwards Capitol Report and Legislative Update will begin airing on this upcoming August 11th from 8:30 am to 9:00 am on KCOH Radio 1430 AM. The program will run every other Tuesday morning at the same time slot, and it will cover the issues that impact you the most; including the hot topics, issues of interest from the State Legislature, and important local community issues just to name a few. I am pleased to be joined by this week's guest, Rep Harold Dutton of Houston who will be dropping by the show.

We will continue to touch on the recent Legislative session, including some of the bills that passed and some that did not pass, as well as, providing a recap on the recently concluded special session.

So please tune in to KCOH Radio 1430 AM or listen on the internet at: http://www.kcohradio.com/listenlive/default.asp beginning this Tuesday, August 11th from 8:30 am to 9:00 am for an enlightening time you won't want to miss! And make sure you pass on the word!

Best Wishes!