I appreciate hearing from constituents from all over Eastern Washington. Your opinions are important and are at the forefront when these issues move through Congress. The letters this week reflect many of the concerns that I share with the health care reform legislation moving between the Senate and the House. I have opposed the reform bills moving through Congress since their inception. Bigger government and more spending will not solve our cost and accessibility problems. We need to implement a step-by-step approach. One that focuses on eliminating the cost drivers in our system – such as reforming our medical malpractice liability system, addressing the waste fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid, and eliminating the administrative inefficiencies in our government health care programs. We can also increase access by opening up state lines and allowing small businesses to band together to purchase insurance plans for employees. I believe true reform should not bankrupt our nation. Again, I appreciate your input and look forward to hearing from you.

 

 

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Rep. McMorris Rodgers

. . . I am a practicing Family Practice Physician currently stationed at RAF Lakenheath in the UK. I would like you to know that I still have great misgivings about the current health care reform bill that is still being processed through Congress. I appreciate that you have been fighting for reasonable alternatives to the present bills. From my personal experience I would strongly suggest smaller, specific reforms to this system that would enable greater access, lower costs, and maintain patient satisfaction to boot. This bill over-reaches and if passed as it stands currently, will have greater consequences than are now being acknowledged. . . My time in England has shown me a universal health care approach that is less than ideal. I and my family have experienced this system first hand and it is not the alternative that I would suggest. I realize that this bill doesn't establish a universal system but I can see how it could easily progress to such. Leave health care matters to the States and regulate only the interstate sale of insurance, medical equipment, etc. . .
Dr. Dean Cranney

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I'm really puzzled by why Obama isn't putting the same time and energy into the economy and jobs as he is into forcing this very unpopular health care bill onto the American people. This will put us so far into debt that we'll never see the end of it. With jobs, people could purchase health insurance, which would be much more cost effective than Obamacare. I agree that we need healthcare, but not at the expense of our nation's safety and economy. . .

Sincerely,

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I am an Emergency Medicine Physician. I see the impact everyday of the under-insured and uninsured. The negative impact on patients lives, the ability of physicians to provide appropriate care, and the impact of the economics of health-care and our general economy.