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Conaway addresses community on health care proposal |
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Written by Brian McCormack
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Tuesday, 04 August 2009 |
Representative K. Michael "Mike" Conaway was in Sweetwater, at Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital on Monday. Representing the 11th Congressional District, Conaway expressed concerns and fielded questions regarding health care reform. Armed with a diagram illustrating the numerous new channels one would supposedly have to go through to receive care, Conaway said he is traveling throughout his district in order to gather feedback from his constituents. "They (the Democrats) are trying to push this through without input from the Republicans," he said.
Community members spoke about why or why not they would be for a major overhaul in the health care field, including Carlos Alvarado, a hospital board member and small-business owner. "This finger pointing does nothing," he said. "You have one side calling the other socialists, or communists. Then the other side calls them fascists, this accomplishes nothing."
Wes Sims of the Texas Farmer's Union, agrees that something has to be done to ease the burden on those who struggle to pay health care costs. "I get calls coming in from people who are concerned about their insurance payments," he said. "They say I can either pay for it, or feed my family." Sims went on to say that he is currently on Medicare, and that he supports a public system that wouldn't exclude any American.
Others aren't so optimistic. One area resident said that she believes that "This president is not sensitive to those who are 65 and older", and she worries that care could be rationed to senior citizens. Conaway said he believes that Obama's plan wouldn't address the issue of lowering health care costs. "I disagree vehemently with the plan," he said. "I don't think health care will ever be less expensive than it is now."
Conaway does concede that there are issues with the current system, and that some ideas regarding reform have be brought up by house Republicans — only to be shot down by the Democrats. "We aren't invited to the table," he said. "We are all interested in a better model." He rejects the idea that a public health system would improve America's status as a medical provider. "We have the best health care system in the world," he proclaimed.
Some studies are at odds with Conaway's assessment. According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. ranks 37th in overall care — just in between Slovakia and Costa Rica. It is estimated that up to 47 million Americans don't have health coverage of some sort. Conaway disputes that number, citing that about 10 million of them are illegal aliens, and many others could theoretically afford insurance, but choose not to carry it.
"That leaves us with about 10 million uninsured," Conaway said. "You and I have some sort of shared responsibility to help them. But to screw up the 85 percent of the population for 15 percent is not acceptable."
So how would Conaway reform the health care system? He says that a combination of personal responsibility, tort reform, and increased competition would inevitably lead to a positive change. But he feels that Obama plan will drive private insurers out of business. "If you have a business owner, and he can provide health insurance in a more cost-effective manner, he may not carry the private insurance, even if his employees prefer it."
Conaway believes that if a bill of this magnitude passes, it will almost have to be approved this year, as next year is an election year. "2010 will be a difficult time to pass this," he said.
What will happen remains to be seen, but with an aggressive pitch by President Obama to make health care a priority, and about 70 percent of Americans agreeing that reformation has to happen on some level, the nation could see a major change in health care by this fall. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 07 August 2009 )
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