PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
by Gary Hornberger
ast week, Governor Ed Rendell and Representative Tim Seip campaigned in Schuylkill County for the latest taxpayer-funded, universal health care proposal. The governor's compassion is obvious and his desire to help families in need is undoubtedly sincere but his solutions paper over the underlying issues for a real health care coverage emergency.
I know something about the people Ed Rendell wants to help because my own family is among the millions that would personally benefit from the governor's "Cover All Pennsylvanians" program. Let me explain. When I retired from my 12-year service as Schuylkill County Controller, I retained a personal county retiree health care benefit. In other words, I have health care coverage but my wife and kids have none. The truth is that, from flu shots to cancer treatments, a growing number of our friends and neighbors have the same spotty coverage or none at all.
Last week, I received a $200 bill from the doctor for a routine visit for my youngest daughter. Paying the bill meant setting up an installment plan with the physician's office as we have done with other unexpected medical expenses. These are obligations we are determined to meet – no matter what.
I share this because the Hornberger home is not alone. Deciding which bills to pay, and which ones to hold is a way of life for most working families. That is why the plans being shopped to voters by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Ed Rendell sound so appealing, and why polls show wide support for government to use tax dollars to fix the problem.
But with all due respect to the efforts of Governor Rendell and Representative Seip, their plan does not come close to solving the health care coverage crisis. Under their formula, higher taxes, more government workers, and a heavy load of regulations will mean more people will be able to get doctor's bills paid for by state government. But taxes, bureaucrats and regulations will only result in still higher health care costs. If the government competes with personal insurance, what incentive is there to lower prices and increase affordability? The answer comes from Canada's experiment with government-directed health care – none. Canada, like Europe, is infamous for long waiting lines and rationed care. In England, seniors are refused treatment past a certain age. Is this what we want?
Governor Rendell's proposed state government health care benefit hurts poor and working class families. Cover All Pennsylvanians decreases incentives to seek jobs with benefits or find employment opportunities that could jeopardize access to government benefits. We should never force families to choose between the dignity and rewards of honest work, and what should be safety net, temporary government help – the difference between offering a helping hand or a life of dependency.
Giving families like mine access to affordable health care requires government getting out of the way. Instead of shifting the burden of health insurance to increasingly older communities of Pennsylvania taxpayers, State Senator Mike Folmer has introduced an alterative to the Rendell Plan he calls "HealthyPA." Folmer's proposal would keep control and options with the patient – not well-meaning politicians.
Under the HealthyPA plan, Pennsylvania would review and roll-back health insurance mandates, weed out bad health care professionals and boost competition between health insurance companies to increase quality while lowering costs. Among other solutions, the measure would expand consumer control by promoting employer-sponsored health savings accounts, while giving consumers access to real price information so that families like mine could determine if that $200 doctor's visit was really the best deal.
So while the governor and his allies in the legislature attempt to prescribe medical solutions, it is important to first magnify the fine print: higher taxes, bigger government, less consumer choice and control. This prescription has never cured anything.
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Gary Hornberger is the Republican nominee for State Representative in the 125th Legislative District.
