By State Senator Toni Boucher
The ongoing national healthcare debate
is generating an historic level of public interest.
More than 2,000 people attended several area public
forums in the past two weeks because they are concerned
about the volume and magnitude of new, expensive programs
coming out of Washington. Constituents are contacting
me in record numbers to express their worry that new
federal programs, including universal healthcare,
threaten our children’s future because they
will not be able to afford the taxes to pay for them.
We should be concerned. Recently, the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office predicted that our federal
government will have a $7 trillion deficit by 2019,
while the President’s Office of Management and
Budget is predicting a $9 trillion deficit for that
same time period. According to the Centers for Medicaid
and Medicare Services, national spending on medical
care in 2008 reached $2.4 trillion - almost double
the current $1.58 trillion federal deficit. Medicare
alone could account for 20% of the federal budget
by 2016.
Many of the people I met at area healthcare
forums said the federal government should focus on
solving the nation’s fiscal crisis before creating
expensive programs like universal healthcare. Understandably,
they are worried about the cost to families and small
businesses. They want to know whether a national government-run
program will result in rationing, reduce the quality
of healthcare, and limit access.
Perhaps, our national leaders should
spend more time talking to my constituents. Many who
attended area public forums suggested creating a separate,
private insurance program for the 10 to 30 million
Americans who need it. They believe that it makes
more sense to use our national resources to help the
uninsured, rather than dismantle the entire healthcare
system. Other suggestions offered at these forums
included: promoting competition by permitting insurance
companies to sell healthcare policies across state
lines; allowing people to take their healthcare plans
with them when they leave jobs; protecting beneficiaries
from losing their healthcare due to pre-existing conditions;
better utilizing electronic medical records and other
technology; addressing the costs of medical malpractice
insurance and lawsuits; and reducing the number of
healthcare related state and federal mandates.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to winning
widespread support for federal healthcare reform is
a lack of trust. Would people be allowed to keep their
doctors and existing insurance under a national healthcare
system? Would employers stop offering insurance? Would
private insurance companies be able to compete with
a government-run program? Would a government-run program
provide us with the same level of high-quality medical
care that we now enjoy? How would a national government-run
healthcare system address end-of-life issues?
Clearly, it is time for the federal
government to address healthcare funding issues. However,
it is important that the solutions appropriately address
the problems in a cost-effective, responsible manner
that does not tamper with the system that has brought
us the very best medical services in the world.
