Today's Detroit Free Press ran a story by Jase Bolger titled "The Affordable Care Act: What's at stake." In this editorial, Bolger (the Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives) discusses health care reform in Michigan. The article begins:
The federal government is headed in a different, and much worse direction, than Michigan. With tough decisions and hard work over the past year Michigan’s state government has turned a $1.5 billion budget deficit into a more than $450 million surplus this year. We have deposited hundreds of millions of dollars into the state’s savings account. Further, we’ve reduced Michigan’s long-term debt by more than $5 billion, removing $2,400 in debt per child that was previously piled on every child in Michigan. We’ve done so by making state government more efficient and focusing on its core responsibilities. At the same time, Michigan’s unemployment rate has fallen from about 13% to 9% through the creation of 100,000 private sector jobs. We still have much work to do, but I believe Michigan’s best days are in front of us.
Unfortunately, President Obama is taking the country down a path that lacks financial accountability, choosing to bury future generations under unimaginable layers of debt. The most egregious example of this is what should be called the Un-Affordable Care Act.
Affordable health care is indeed a challenge for our families. There are things the government can do to help. It could adopt lawsuit reform to reduce the burden patients pay for, such as doctor’s liability insurance and the many unnecessary tests caused by defensive medicine, ensure policy coverage portability between jobs, and increase competition for lower cost insurance by allowing providers to sell insurance across state lines. Employers should be encouraged to offer health care benefits. Medical decisions should be made between patients and their doctors. Unfortunately, on most of these issues Washington went in the wrong direction. Even though there is a fine, the president’s program literally provides financial incentive for employers to drop their employees’ health coverage, forcing people to go through a government plan. The president places decisions about health care with government, specifically by having a government panel make decisions about coverage for our senior citizens in Medicare. And, the president’s plan increases rather than contains, costs.
You can read the rest of the article on the Free Press website.
The federal government is headed in a different, and much worse direction, than Michigan. With tough decisions and hard work over the past year Michigan’s state government has turned a $1.5 billion budget deficit into a more than $450 million surplus this year. We have deposited hundreds of millions of dollars into the state’s savings account. Further, we’ve reduced Michigan’s long-term debt by more than $5 billion, removing $2,400 in debt per child that was previously piled on every child in Michigan. We’ve done so by making state government more efficient and focusing on its core responsibilities. At the same time, Michigan’s unemployment rate has fallen from about 13% to 9% through the creation of 100,000 private sector jobs. We still have much work to do, but I believe Michigan’s best days are in front of us.
Affordable health care is indeed a challenge for our families. There are things the government can do to help. It could adopt lawsuit reform to reduce the burden patients pay for, such as doctor’s liability insurance and the many unnecessary tests caused by defensive medicine, ensure policy coverage portability between jobs, and increase competition for lower cost insurance by allowing providers to sell insurance across state lines. Employers should be encouraged to offer health care benefits. Medical decisions should be made between patients and their doctors. Unfortunately, on most of these issues Washington went in the wrong direction. Even though there is a fine, the president’s program literally provides financial incentive for employers to drop their employees’ health coverage, forcing people to go through a government plan. The president places decisions about health care with government, specifically by having a government panel make decisions about coverage for our senior citizens in Medicare. And, the president’s plan increases rather than contains, costs.
You can read the rest of the article on the Free Press website.
All your statement does is speak to your personal narrowmindedness and greed. We are 38th in the work in healthcare. Highest in cost. Worst in infant death. Our elected representatives move us toward universal coverage which has been accomplished and improved the healthcare in EVERY OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED country on earth. And you dare to criticize someone for solving the mess your industry has created. Predictable and sad. May God have mercy.
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