Healthcare

Somehow I'm still signed up for an email from Idaho's United State's Senator Mike Crapo-

He sent this out in his newsletter ... and I AGREE! Please Congress - think this through!

Healthcare

Our nation’s healthcare system must be reformed, but whatever plan Congress adopts must make fiscal sense. Providing effective and affordable healthcare to our citizen’s is one of the greatest challenges facing the health profession, insurers, and our local, state, and federal governments. Any successful health reform legislation must base itself on an open consumer-driven market with less regulation and more individual responsibility.

An analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that some reform proposals being discussed in the Senate fail to resolve the biggest issues behind healthcare reform. First, we need to provide affordable healthcare coverage for those who don’t have it, without affecting those who are happy with their present coverage. Second, we know our present healthcare costs and spending are not sustainable and must somehow be reduced. So far, we are failing to resolve either of these issues.

There are ideas, which I agree with, for reform that includes plans to lower costs through larger group pools and negotiations with healthcare providers. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I have been engaged in negotiations to try and reach a bipartisan agreement on a healthcare proposal.

Instead of granting the government more power over healthcare, individual patients must have more control, choice and information to make their healthcare decisions. When individual patients have these choices, they will reward innovative insurers and providers who reduce costs and improve quality. As Congress continues to consider various health reform measures, I will keep the concerns of Idahoans in mind and work to effectively and meaningfully create a system of healthcare that benefits Idahoans and all Americans – now and for generations to come.