Attending from Patriots for Change and Change is Coming to Geauga County: Ed Fire, Judy Kramer, Lynne Rustad, Ray DiCarlo, Pat Sommers, Fred Welty, Elliott Berenson, Kathy Leavenworth, Diana Nazelli, Diana Pearson, Kathy Flora Thompson, Marcia Carpenter, Gail Larson, Becky Thomas
Lynne: We've been active in health care reform. We prefer single payer but realize it is not on the table. Our biggest concern is having a robust public option.
Dino: The public option is not ruled out completely – he is open to anything. However, there are 3 committees working on policy so HB 3200 is still in flux. Cost is his main concern.
We have received 70% of our concerns from constituents who receive insurance from employers – they see no relief for them in the present Bill. Also, they are worried about cuts in Medicare.
He wishes our public option wasn’t so closely aligned with the Canadian system, and more like Sweden’s or the Netherlands where the government covers catastrophic health costs, its mandated for everyone, it subsidizes the poor, and insurance companies compete for other people and for supplemental insurance plans.
Ed: What will the Bill be? Is it going to just be a party line vote?
Dino: This version will probably be a party line vote because the Dems have the votes. Nancy Pelosi has not reached out to the Republicans, even though the President has.
Lynne: To many constituents, a government sponsored, single- payer plan such as Medicare looks best. Has Rep. LaTourette even considered it?
Dino: Yes, but it means rationing health care, and that would be the only affordable way.
(We pointed out that insurance companies already ration health care)
Lynne: Medicare and the VA system are already single payer systems.
Dino: True but the veterans we hear from are scared they are going to lose care. They complain they cannot use the Cleveland Clinic as it is.
Lynne: You only hear complaints. When I worked for the VA people were generally happy with care.
Judy: Does LaTourette have familiarity with other countries’ systems?
Dino: Yes, but I have a personal interest because of family. My mom had no insurance when my dad died. A public plan would help people with no insurance or the under insured. However, our constituency doesn’t care about this, they are just worried about losing their benefits. Employers will ask employees to go on the public plan if it is less costly.
Ray: People are losing their insurance anyway.
Dino: You are right, but people don’t want to have to choose. They want to be taken care of by their employer.
Fred: You hear many individual complaints. What is more relevant is do we want health care to take 20% of GDP in the future. Our medications and procedures must be evaluated for efficacy.
Marcia: Gave an example of rising costs of treatment, and how doctor is honest and doesn’t try to push unnecessary treatments on her if they are not going to work. People have to see how much waste there is in Medicare.
Dino: People see reevaluating treatment, procedures and medications as a severe change to our system. The perception is that this is rationing or death panels. The Bill is having problems because there is no proof that it will reduce costs. Preventive health/wellness isn’t scored as reducing costs. They only look at the last 6 months of a person’s life which is the most expensive time.
Fred: So years of a healthy life count for nothing.
Pat: A recent article in the New Yorker on health care points to abuse of resources. We need changes in our society so we don’t do unnecessary treatments etc. at the end of life.
Dino: The CBO report conflicts with the Bill. We need to control costs and we need tough decisions about care. Our president is a gifted orator, but he needs to reach people who have health insurance with more details. Our district is the wealthiest one in OH, and probably has the least unemployment. Therefore, people who have insurance do not want change.
Kathy: Shouldn’t LaTourette be trying to educate his constituents about the facts?
Marcia: It is his duty to inform constituents, not use fear.
Dino: We have the highest enrollment of people on Medicare Advantage. They don’t want to lose that. The Bill is ever changing, so it is difficult to inform people about what is in it in an up- to- date manner.
Elliott: Where is the morality in this Bill? It is immoral to deprive people in the country of health care.
Dino: It’s politics, and it’s embarrassing sometimes. Congress has become so partisan; we have a loss of statesmanship. LaTourette is a moderate, and there are very few of them. We have lost the ability to craft a Bill.
Lynne: Rationing is not the word we should be using. It’s actually intelligent, evidence-based medical management.
Dino: It would be good to reward doctors and hospitals for preventative medicine.
Lynne: The costs of insurance are huge – 30% administrative costs versus 4% Medicare.
Government cannot negotiate drug prices because of the bad bargain Obama is making currently and the Republicans made for the Medicare drug benefit.
Dino: Insurance companies are not as bad as drug companies.
Judy: People are afraid of change. How does LaTourette know what people are thinking?
Dino: We count phone calls and emails. We tally mail. We summarize visits in the office plus personal contact at meetings. For us, letters to the editor are not very effective. PERSONAL LETTERS CARRY THE MOST WEIGHT!
Ed: Health care is difficult, but it’s a moral issue. The way we treat the least among us says something about the character of our country. It’s also a leadership issue. Sometimes a politician needs to jeopardize political connections to stand for principals he/she believes in. It takes guts to cast a vote.
Dino: Please get back to me in the future with an email on this issue. Thanks for coming.
At conclusion of interview, petitions were delivered to DiSantis that Patriots and Geauga Change members had collected at the Geauga County Fair. He was also provided with articles that will hopefully inform him and Rep. LaTourette about health care reform options and broaden their perspective.
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