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GUEST COLUMN |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT:
Bill Thomas |
State Rep. Eugene
DePasquale D-York |
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ATTENTION EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR: Please consider publishing the following guest column by state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, on the OP-ED or Guest Column page of your newspaper. Please use the contact information above for questions or confirmation. Thank you for your consideration.
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Friday, June 8, 2007
Solving Pa.’s health-care crisis: What’s the right medicine?
By state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York
The Pennsylvania General Assembly took a solid first step this year by enacting reforms that will finally change the way business is done in Harrisburg. For my part, I was the first legislator to post my expenses online for public review, because I believe we should always assume the public has a right to know how we spend their money.
But I am not satisfied with merely reforming our legislative process to make it more transparent. I believe we also must work to instill a renewed desire in our government to tackle the big issues despite the political risks. At the end of the day, I don’t want to enact reform just for reform’s sake; I want to reform our government to ensure that legislation reflects the will of the people, and not just the interests of a privileged few. I want to ensure that we tackle big issues like property taxes, affordable health care and state spending. Without these changes, are we really moving forward?
One issue that we must confront quickly in Harrisburg is controlling the ever-increasing cost of health care. These increasing costs hit every Pennsylvanian directly in the checkbook regardless of whether you are 24 or 84. In my campaign for the state House, I constantly mentioned to the families I met that I didn’t think parents should have to hold their children back from enjoying time in a park because they can’t afford a doctor visit if they sprained their ankle; nor should a senior citizen need to choose between prescription drugs or a trip to the grocery store.
Even though I am new to the House of Representatives, I have some ideas on how best to address this situation. I’ve recently unveiled bipartisan legislation that would permit small businesses to pool together to purchase group health insurance at reduced rates. This measure would help small businesses cover their employees through lower rates. And, more people would have health insurance.
Small businesses lack the purchasing power that larger employers have when it comes to negotiating health insurance plans for their employees. As a result, they often are given little choice in plan coverage and are forced to accept steep insurance rates which they and their employees simply cannot afford. Or, they have to join business associations and pay for services they do not want or need.
My bill would allow small businesses to form groups for the sole purpose of negotiating health insurance plans and rates. In my opinion, it is a sensible and commonsense way to provide cost-effective insurance plans for our state’s small businesses and affordable coverage for their employees.
Here is an interesting statistic I have come across while researching this issue. The costs associated with the uninsured are far more burdensome than the money we would have to allocate to provide health care to the uninsured. If you currently have health insurance, about 6 percent of your premium pays for health care for those who have none. That costs you and other Pennsylvanians about $1.4 billion a year.
On top of that, state businesses, taxpayers and consumers pay unnecessary health-care costs arising from avoidable hospital infections, medical errors and complications, and inadequate care for chronic diseases, such as diabetes and asthma.
We can no longer afford to keep our current health-care system the way it is. We need to make significant reforms to provide everyone with access to affordable, quality care, and to reduce the ever-increasing costs that are embedded in the system. We can no longer afford the high cost of doing nothing.
It’s the right medicine for our ailing system; and a reform needed not just for reform’s sake.
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