SPECIAL REPORT: In a medical fix: Businesses, politicians speak out on health care
| Thursday, May 28 2009 02:54 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Jun 23 2009 11:38 AM
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U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.
U.S. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno
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The national debate over how — or, indeed, whether — to reform the U.S. health-care system appears to be an open question.
With President Barack Obama largely deferring to Congress on the issue, there’s a lot of talk about expanding the ranks of people who have health insurance and controlling medical costs and increasing government control over the country’s complex network of payors and providers.
But as is evident in our look this month at local ideas on the reform question, now seems to be the time to bring suggestions to the table. Any suggestions.
In addition to asking more than a dozen Kern health-care leaders for their thoughts (not all of them responded), we reached out to our two local congressmen. They, after all, have votes that could directly shape the reform effort.
Here’s what Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy had to say:
“We have an opportunity this year to reform our health-care system and make health-care coverage more affordable and more accessible for all Americans, despite any pre-existing conditions.
“In Congress, I will work to find common ground on smart solutions — solutions that respect the patient-doctor relationship, that let Americans that like their current health-care coverage to keep it, and that ultimately empower patients the freedom to choose the health-care coverage that best fits their needs. Improving health care also means making successful prevention, wellness and disease management programs more available to patients, not only to reduce the high costs of care, but to improve quality of life.
“I look forward to working with the president to achieve patient-centered health-care reforms so Americans have affordable and accessible care, and joined my colleagues in a letter to the president today (May 13) sharing our desire to work together on behalf of millions of American families.”
Democratic Rep. Jim Costa said:
“One of the biggest issues that comes up when I speak with people in the valley is the need to reform our health-care system, and I could not agree more.
“Valley residents from all walks of life are hit hard by the high costs of medical care, simply from seeing the doctor for preventative care, co-payments for medications, or for a surgery. Each day health care is becoming more and more costly, for both individuals and for our government. I am pleased to see the administration attempting to make health care more cost-effective, especially in light of recent reports that Medicare will be insolvent by 2017.
“I would like to see a bipartisan, common-sense solution to reform health care, as I do not believe the answers come from the far left or right. We do need to make health care more efficient and targeted toward outcomes and reduce the number of uninsured and underinsured.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues and hearing their ideas for meaningful reform.”
