ProgressOhio

Looks like Jim Jordan still thinks the George Bush Health Care plan will work. Someone needs to tell him that we won and we need to move on. Here is his response to a letter I send him and my reply via a letter to the local papers.

June 2, 2009

Dear Steve:

Thank you for contacting me regarding health care. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns with me. 

The issue of health care is one of the most vital public policy debates today. One of my top priorities in Congress is to ensure that there is an environment in place that will allow affordable and accessible health care to our citizens. 

The Federal Government's current system of paying for health care results in, at times, an inefficient patchwork of subsidies and payments to providers. I believe one of the answers to rising prices and inefficiency is a move to market-oriented, patient-centered reforms.  Improving access to health coverage that individuals and families choose, thus empowering them through a consumer driven system, will better help people meet their health needs at a price they can afford. 

I have advocated a few initiatives that I believe will allow for better access to affordable care. Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are an innovative proposal, combining consumer driven ideals with individual responsibility, as a means to fund health benefits. HSAs are special accounts in which contributions are used to pay for current and future medical expenses. The accounts are owned by individuals, not employers, therefore, if the individual changes jobs, the portability of the HSA permits the individual to retain their same account. 

Another reform I favor is the Association Health Plan (AHP). These plans allow businesses the opportunity to band together and form large regional or national groups that can purchase health insurance for their employees. AHPs would create bargaining power with providers, uniformity of plans, freedom from costly state-mandated benefit packages, and lower overhead costs. AHPs represent a valuable tool for providing care to the rising number of uninsured Americans. 

In addition, Community Health Centers (CHC) are the country's single largest primary health care system with a strong reputation for providing stable medical services for patients who are otherwise unable to access primary health care. CHCs serve all residents regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay for their healthcare. I support the mission of community health centers and applaud the outstanding medical services they provide.

I hope you will find this information helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any other concerns or questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at (202) 225-2676, or by e-mail through our website at http://jordan.house.gov. 

Sincerely,

Jim Jordan
Member of Congress

My reply

Dear Editor

Recently I wrote to my Congressman Jim Jordan about Health Care, he responded and I wanted to share my reply.

First thank you for your response to my concerns about Health Care Reform. I agree with you that Health care is one of the most vital public policy issues facing us. All of the polls show  this so your recognition of this issue is not surprising.

However I disagree with about everything you say will be the answer to moving forward. You attack the Federal  Government as being an “inefficient patchwork of subsidies and payments”. You must be talking about Medicare and Medicaid which are the primary sources of payments from the Federal government. You are wrong about this. Medicare and Medicaid are the most efficient and cost effective systems in the Health Care delivery system. Studies have shown that administrative costs in public plans are far lower than in the Private sector and public plans do a better job controlling costs than do private plans.

You advocate for HSA’s and AHP’s yet both of these options have been around for years and consumers are not flocking to them because they don’t work. HSA’s provide limited coverage and high deductibles which force consumers to go into bankruptcy or otherwise shift the cost of health care to the public. They work best with healthy individuals who don’t have high health care costs or pre-existing conditions which HSA plans limit coverage. AHP’s  have similar problems and take away public protections that consumers want and need.

Your solutions are not new and resemble the Bush Administrations answers to our problems, privatize  the profits and socialize the problems. This is not new and it is not responsible.

Finally, you say that you support the mission of the Community Health Centers, yet  when a recent bill was being considered which increased funding for these Centers, you voted against it.

 America is experiencing a health care crisis. Health care premiums have increased 73 percent over the last five years while wages have increased only 15 percent. Large manufacturers and neighborhood small businesses are struggling to remain competitive while paying for their employees' health care coverage, while 46 million Americans go without coverage of any kind.

Your solutions are not solutions at all but passing the buck and not engaging in this debate in a sincere way. Shame on you.

Steve Chaffin

1671 Weiss Ave.

Marion, Ohio 43302