Religion &
Politics
I find it quite interesting that Governor Rendell chooses to quote Jesus when he is demanding support for his government-run health care program. As the Governor has been promoting his plan, he has criticized politicians who promote morals and family values, yet do not support his one-size-fits-all plan for covering only some of the uninsured. Rendell stated that these politicians should heed the Bible's advice to "heal the sick" or stop claiming that they support moral and family values.
I, along with many of my colleagues, take offense to those comments. Clearly, we all agree that "healing the sick" is a priority. Yet, there is a philosophical difference in how we choose to solve this problem.
When Jesus admonished His followers to "heal the sick" who was he talking to? Was he addressing Rome? Was he calling for Caesar to provide "free health care?" No, His command was to His followers.
The crux of the question before us is not whether we need to provide greater access to health care, to "heal the sick." The crux of the discussion is HOW we provide greater access to health care. I believe we agree on the goals. We need to reduce the cost of health care for everyone. We need to increase accessibility to quality health care for everyone, and we need to provide help for the most needy in our state to access that care.
There is no such thing as "free" health care. Somebody is paying for it. In the Governor's plan, job creators are forced to pay what begins as a 3 percent payroll tax, that will increase. However it is not just employers who will pay to create a new state run entitlement to health care. Working Pennsylvanians will pay too. Some will not get a deserved raise. Some may be laid off because of the increased employer taxes. Some will lose their current health benefit plan because their employer will be forced into the Government plan to reduce costs and overhead. Some will simply lose their job as businesses close and move to other states rather than pay another tax. Make no mistake, the Prescription for Pennsylvania is a prescription for problems for Pennsylvania workers.
Expanded government-run programs are not the answer. The AdultBasic and CHIP programs did not eliminate the uninsured populations as promised. Versions of the governor's plan have failed in other countries as well as other states. Britain's delays for surgery are so long they have established a goal to reduce the wait to 5 months in 2007. In Canada, a doctor shortage is one of the consequences of their government-mandated health care system. In the province of Ontario alone, 1.4 million people are without the services of a family doctor. The provincial health ministers' goal is to bring down the wait time for cancer patients to receive radiation therapy to one month and to 6 ½ weeks for hip replacements. The median wait time between a referral by a family doctor and an appointment with a specialist is now over 2 months.
We should not be spending billions of dollars to emulate these programs, yet that seems to be what our governor wants to do.
In the United States, Maine was the first state to institute a universal state health plan. The Dirigo Choice program set a goal of having 130,000 more people insured by 2009. As of today, only 18,000 have been enrolled, many of whom had insurance to begin with. In Pennsylvania, the AdultBasic program has a waiting list of over 83,000 with a huge budget shortfall. How can the Governor expect to add thousands more to a new government-run program, when the Commonwealth can't even afford the program it now has without raising more taxes?
The House Republican Caucus has a clear alternative that focuses on people - giving them choices, flexibility and security in their health care with no tax increases. Our plan is based on the needs of individuals, where health care decisions are made by patients and doctors, not government. We believe people and businesses should be given incentives and tax credits to continue and expand access to health insurance. We believe competition in the insurance market will drive prices for health insurance down and accessibility up. We believe educated and informed consumers will shop for cost effective quality health care if they have their own financial interest in mind when making health care decisions. We believe all the behaviors necessary for a healthier society, wellness programs, chronic disease control, and regular health care assessments will be more quickly established when consumers recognize their incentives meeting these goals.
As a member of the House Insurance Committee, I listened to person after person who testified that unnecessary and ineffective utilization of health care services is a huge cost driver. Our proposals cut at the heart of over- utilization. We empower people and give them the tools they need to make health care decisions that are right for them and their families. Our plan includes expanding the use of Health Savings Accounts, which provide consumer choice and portability. According to new survey findings released by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, participants enrolled in consumer directed health plans are more engaged in wellness programs and are more likely to plan and save for healthcare expenses than those in traditional health care coverage, which leads to additional health care savings for everyone.
Our plan focuses on creating greater competition and transparency in the insurance market. We support subsidized care and insurance for the most needy. We want to expand the use of Federally Qualified Health Centers and other community-based providers to reduce inappropriate use of emergency rooms. And we want to provide a better environment for all health care providers to stay and work in Pennsylvania. Any plan to reduce the cost of health care must include law suit reform, which the Governor has ignored on his way to create a new bureaucracy.
We should heal the sick, but we must provide the medical community, families and businesses with the tools to do that. We should not be extracting more taxes for a one-size-fits-all government-run health care system that will fall far short of delivering its promised outcomes. We should be looking to the citizens - not Caesar - for our health care solutions.
Rep. Scott W. Boyd
Co-Chair, House Republican Health Care Task Force
