|
 |
8/11/2009
Rep. Petri on health care; town meetings this week
Concerning Health Care Reform Let me be clear about this: We absolutely, positively need health care reform. But, we need it done right. Health care accounts for 18 percent of our economy. If reform is botched, both our lives and our livelihoods will be put at risk.
The vast majority of Americans have some kind of health insurance that they are generally satisfied with, but what they really worry about is rising costs. Health care inflation has outpaced general inflation by approximately 2.5 percent per year. Reforms which bring consumers more information and control over the cost and quality of health care would facilitate a more efficient delivery system.
I believe that we need to institute reforms which reward high-quality care and successful outcomes. Currently, doctors are encouraged to order extra tests because insurance pays them "per procedure," and because they are at high risk of being sued if they miss something they might have caught if they had pulled out all the stops regardless of the cost or the small likelihood of discovering a problem. These incentives should be rebalanced.
Other changes in tax, subsidy and regulatory policies can slow health care inflation while expanding coverage to those who need it at a price they can afford.
One approach which should get more attention is Health Savings Accounts. With HSAs, people deposit money in special tax-free accounts which they can tap for day-to-day health care expenses. Unlike regular insurance coverage, HSAs make people aware of the cost of services. Those who use HSAs are required to carry low-premium high-deductible catastrophic insurance which kicks in to pay for major illnesses.
One thing we should not do, however, is to rush ahead with the legislative proposals being touted by President Obama and the congressional leadership.
President Obama rightly argues that we need to restrain rising health care costs, but the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has been unable to find truly significant provisions in the House leadership's plan to do this. Instead, the CBO has stated that the plan would result in over $1 trillion in new spending over 10 years which would "probably generate substantial increases in federal budget deficits."
The spending would partially be offset by cuts in Medicare and by $800 billion in new taxes, including hikes on small business - the engine of job creation in this country. According to economic modeling by the President's chief economic advisor, the business tax hikes alone could destroy up to 4.7 million jobs.
The President promises that if you like your current coverage, you will be able to keep it. But what he doesn't say is that the economics of his approach would encourage businesses to drop their coverage and instead move their employees over to the proposed government plan which the President insists on including. Analysts differ on how many people would lose their current coverage, but the correct figure is likely in the tens of millions.
Rather than simplifying health care administration, the House leadership's proposal would create 53 new boards, bureaucracies, commissions or programs.
The fact is, health care reform is complicated. There are many different values and approaches which must be carefully balanced. And, once again, health care accounts for 18 percent of our economy, profoundly affecting our lives and our livelihoods. This is why we should slow down and think before we act.
Town Meetings
My latest round of Town Meetings is already under way. This is an opportunity for you to voice your opinion on federal issues in a group setting. Here is a list of the remaining meetings:
MONDAY, AUGUST 10
9:30 - 10:30 a.m., GREEN LAKE, Caestecker Public Library, 518 Hill St., Conference Room
2:30 - 3:30 p.m., HORICON, City Hall, 404 East Lake St., Activity Room A
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13
9:00 - 10:00 a.m., OAKFIELD, Community Center, 130 North Main St.
3:30 - 4:30 p.m., WATERTOWN, Municipal Building, 106 Jones St., City Council Chambers
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14
10:00 - 11:00 a.m., ADAMS, Municipal Building, 101 North Main Street, Council Chambers
1:00 - 2:00 p.m., WILD ROSE, Community Center, 500 Division St.
3:00 - 4:00 p.m., MONTELLO, Marquette County Courthouse, 77 West Park St., Public Safety Training Room
Tom Petri is a Republican and represents the residents of the 6th Congressional District. You can subscribe to his newsletter here.
|
|
Blog Archives
| 2010 |
  December
|
November
|
October
|
September
|
August
|
July
|
June
|
May
|
April
|
March
|
February
|
January
• Solberg: Healing After an Abortion
• Basketball fans eyeing extension of Miller Park sales tax
• Nanny sex-ed bill goes to Doyle
• A first. Village limits pension contribution for employees
• Nanny State update: Toothbrushing mandated
• Obama pushes education inflation
• WI Investment Board votes to borrow to juice up returns
• So Republicans have brought nothing to the table?
• You have got to be kidding me
• Nygren: Governor Continues Terms of Failure in State of the State
• Sen. Fitzgerald: Governor down the wrong track at high speed
• Phosphorus is the new CO2. $Billions in Wisconsin
• More Obama giveaways
• A reprimand? Would you keep him on the job?
• Burri: Sarah Palin for Prez troubles me
• Quote of the Day – Obama after the pie-eating contest
• Populism, abused and trampled
• Fitzgerald: Senate Republicans Propose Real Job Creation Agenda
• Stripped down health insurance – it’s about time
• Ok GOP, scrap the Party of NO; time to lead
• No way Feingold is a Coakley. Is Wall a Brown?
• Burri: Conservatives off the chart for a RINO?
• Paltry quid pro quo?
• Doyle says ARRA has ‘created or retained’ 44,000 WI jobs
• Does most of the public fall for this stuff?
• When you get signatures, always get a couple extra
• Blame it on the outmoded computers
• Scott Brown victory does not scuttle health bill
• 8th Congressional Candidate Forum, Jan. 25
• Scott Walker Meet-and-greet, Monday, Jan. 18
• Aren’t consumers taxpayers too?
• MORE taxes on investment income - dreadful and wrong
• Join the blaze orange army and say ‘Enough is Enough’
• The future of government-run health care
• Tax on banks is a really bad idea
• Roth, Savard on the stump, grassroots style
• Savard speaking in Appleton, 8 PM, Wed., Jan. 13.
• Rahmlow: Savard, Bies frontrunners for State Senate
• Burri: Failing Political Correctness 101
• School contracts and Race to the Top
• Senator Feingold worrisome and big red flags
• Psephological?
• This is really important. Contact Rep. Kagen. Now. Please.
• This is exactly what we need from Governor Doyle
• This guy is my hero
• Why am I not surprised?
• Talk health reform with Feingold (Th), Petri (today)
• Give the Mayor power over MPS - if he can break contracts
• Burri: Yup, Dems really are going to bypass a conference
• The $2.7 billion Wisconsin deficit no one told you about
• Walker launches county accountability website
• Rahmlow: Why is Van Hollen dodging the Nebraska deal?
|
| 2009 |
December
|
November
|
October
• The Lawton-Bader files
• Yup, it’s the TAX LEVY, not the tax RATE
• Ellis: costly automobile insurance laws must be rolled back
• If not Barrett, who?
• The subsidy game
• Burri: Bailouts, Banks, Health Care, and the Mob
• Attend Appleton Schools budget meeting tonight
• A public option WON’T increase costs? That’s delusional!
• Appleton Schools budget meeting Monday
• Wisconsin should be screaming for accountability
• Burri: If anything, we need more obstructionism around here
• WI on the leading edge - in the wrong direction
• Rep. Montgomery: Utility Customers Join State’s Crime-Fighting Efforts
• Public Conservation and Recreation Lands Total 16.5% of State
• In the crow's nest of the Titanic, shouting 'Iceberg!'
• Is Rep. Nelson a political hack?
• Health care: The road ahead will be brutal
• Kagen's pandering again
• Birthers - good stuff for you
• How much do we bend over backward for seniors?
• The trouble with health care is paying for it
• Two-parent families: The Gold Standard
• Burri: Kids... the joys and blessings
• Very, very worried about health care
• Rep. Huebsch: Wisconsin is proof government health care isn’t the answer
• School district contracts push up tax levy
• What? Obama, the Peace Prize?
• TODAY - hearing on Campaign Finance Reform
• Appleton School District tax levy up way too much
• CBO report is out - and the bill isn't even written yet?
• So, how much do YOU budget for health care?
• Burri: Copenhagen trip was amateurish
• “Sotomayor, you have blood on your hands...”
• Cap and Trade. Always follow the money
• Rep. Kagen gets (almost) free health services
• I actually agree with Rep. Kagen
• Future Wisconsin Conference for Conservatives, October 10, Wauwatosa
|
September
|
August
|
July
|
June
|
May
|
April
|
March
|
February
|
January
|
| 2008 |
December
|
November
|
October
|
September
|
August
|
July
|
June
|
May
|
April
|
March
• Important votes Tuesday, including Appleton Common Council
• Democrats are becoming supply siders??
• Further debunking Hillary myths
• WEAC has created an unsustainable monopoly
• From Mark Gundrum: One of the greatest honors an American can experience
• 'Operation Chaos' working?
• Joe Martin the best candidate in Appleton's 8th
• State programs to cut? - Volume II
• Oh the naivete of youth
• Not just disingenuous - flat wrong
• Steve - you will be missed
• Make cuts only AFTER you're elected....
• Getting serious: What programs can we cut?
• Rep. Steve Kagen joining me on Jerry Bader Show today
• Rep. Van Roy: Dental Care Pilot Program
• Has Dave Obey turned the corner on earmarks?
• Speaker Huebsch: Governor turns down Federal Aid?
• Mark Rahmlow: "We're Broke."
• As taxpayers, how do we know if it's a Chevy or a Lexus?
• This is trash talk - about a veteran
• Frank Lasee: Take time to get the Compact right
• 'The Gableman Ad' - is it racist?
• Roth thankful, Kagen shaking money tree
• Gov. Doyle's office not enamored with Freedom of Information
• Governor Doyle will never do it
• Leadership on smoking ban? Not Hanna
• Rep. Van Roy speaks out about smear ads
• You're threatening me about potholes?
• Losing the Hastert seat is NOT a trend and NOT curtians for the GOP
• First suggestion for 'slashing' programs
• Big money-saver for municipalities
• More one time fixes. Nuts.
• Any chances???
• I'm doing the Jerry Bader Show, today, the 11th
• Representative Frank Lasee: Final Waltz of the Season
• Guest Blog: It's not the county's business to be in the nursing home business
• Yup, Hillary won Texas and Ohio
• Gableman/Butler race featured - and it isn't pretty
• Lies from Planned Parenthood and NARAL
• He who sacrifices liberty.....
• Duh.
• The Troha sentencing, Doyle and that $200K
• Guns, passion and "originality"
• How hard is it anyway, to shut down a government program?
• Voting is a PRIVILEGE. And so are property taxes....
• Guest Blog: Governor Doyle, cancel your Ireland trip
|
February
|
January
|
| 2007 |
December
|
November
|
October
|
September
|
August
|
July
|
June
|
May
|
April
|
March
|
February
|
January
• Lots of ideas. No money.
• The Cigarette Tax - "Poor Policy Instrument?"
• School budget Lite?
• Frankenstein - not in the library, but in the legislature
• A librarian, a legislator, a president
• $1.25/pack - NO, NO, NO, and NO
• Kagen and Reagan in the same breath?
• Menasha: behind the 8-ball, but not biting the dust
• Any way you slice it, Wisconsin government wants (further) in on health care
• The World is Flat...what about health care?
• The PAC - too precious to fail. Day 3
• News follow-ups: Appleton West, Kagen at the White House
• Fox Cities PAC - too precious to fail - Day 2
• Fox Cities PAC - too precious to fail
• New Transit Tax coming your way
• Rep. Petri has his finger in the dike - I guess
• AASD Retirement Costs Burdensome
• Health care, health care, health care, health care
• Water rate increase was no slam dunk
• Education for all is just a bad dream
• New Year's resolutions from a parade snob
|
| 2006 |
December
|
November
|
October
|
September
|
| 2000 |
May
|
|
