Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Friday, June 06, 2008

Audience at local AARP town hall wants access, affordable health care

By TERRY RINDFLEISCH | La Crosse Tribune

There was plenty of blame to go around for the health care crisis at an AARP town hall meeting Thursday in La Crosse.

Fingers were pointed at government, health care providers, drug companies, insurance companies and even patients who don’t have healthy behaviors.

But everyone at the forum agreed that all Americans need better access and more affordable health care, including mental health parity.

State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, vice-chairwoman of the health committee, said she advocates the comprehensive reform of the entire health care system like the proposed Healthy Wisconsin plan, which is similar to the state and federal employees’ insurance plan.

The plan creates large risk pools that lower costs and force health plans to compete, Vinehout said.

“But it’s very difficult moving from discussion of problems to discussion of solutions,” she said. “The problem is not coming up with a solution; it’s coming up with the political will to do it.”

The Rev. Curtis Miller of Sparta, Wis., a Democratic candidate for the 92nd Assembly seat, said health care providers, whose roots are based in faith, have moved away from their mission and sense of purpose in serving others.

Miller, also president of a faith-based group addressing health care, said people have to share the risk and burden when others get sick or injured and make sure they get affordable care.

As a chaplain, Miller said he said he saw a custodian who was hospitalized with heart problems who had to choose between staying in the hospital for treatment or losing his home because he could not afford the care.

“He chose to go home and protect his family,” Miller said. “It is a fundamentally immoral position to put people in this situation.”

Sandy Brekke, director of the free and volunteer-run St. Clare Health Mission in La Crosse, said 85 percent of the clinic patients are working hard but can’t afford health insurance, and they come for acute illnesses and injuries, not colds and sniffles.

“Health care is a luxury they cannot afford,” Brekke said.

Tom Kennedy, chief financial officer for J.F. Brennan Co, said he was concerned about access to quality care, transparency and the cost and burden to employers.

Kennedy said some of his young employees turn down health insurance because they would rather spend the premium cost on beer and cigarettes. He said employees must have a stake in their own health care, and higher deductibles help them have “skin in the game.”

Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at (608) 791-8227 or trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com.