Health-care accessibility and affordability were among the topics discussed at Newman Regional Health Tuesday evening as a group of health care professionals met with State Sen. Jim Barnett to discuss issues involving health care reform.
Barnett, a candidate for the Republican nomination for the Kansas 1st District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was at Newman to announce the formation of a health-care coalition to advise him on issues in the field and work toward viable reform.
“I am taking this time to create a health care coalition ... to help me with the creation of health care policy that, if elected, will go with me to Washington,” Barnett said.
The issue of affordable health care was addressed early, with many offering their views of how to lower costs.
Dr. James Glenn said one way to save money on health care was to find a way to stop unnecessary or duplicate procedures or testing.
“I don’t think we’re going to save any money on health care unless we quit doing repetitive, redundant, unnecessary testing, whether it be lab work, CT/MRI and a lot of other things,” Glenn said, adding that electronic medical records can reduce these procedures by allowing doctors and specialists to provide information that will help avoid procedural repetition.
Another way to reduce costs, Glenn said, would be to reform medical liability to reduce the costs associated with malpractice insurance.
Herb Kuhn, who in May was appointed to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an independent government body, was present at the meeting to offer his viewpoints. Kuhn pointed out that many of the people in Washington making decisions on health care policy are not professionals in the field.
“In Washington, I often see a lot of economists trying to masquerade as physicians, and I think that’s kind of dangerous,” Kuhn said. He went on to make a point that, above all else, health care must be affordable and available to all.
“It sounds pretty simple, but it’s very, very difficult to do, moving forward,” Kuhn said. “Particularly when you look at the numbers. I think we have a lot of people who are satisfied with their coverage right now, but the affordability is, I think, really the crux.” Kuhn questioned how the government is going to put 47 million more people into a system that needs improvement.
Those present discussed a number of other ways to cut costs, including striving for a healthy lifestyle, preventing problems from getting worse by making early treatment easier, and changing attitudes about keeping ourselves healthy.
Bill Persinger, executive director of the Mental Health Center of East Central Kansas, pointed out the importance of prevention and early treatment in the mental health field.
“We get pretty excited from time to time talking about how to prevent mental health problems, and with early identification and early treatment, you take a 19- or 25-year-old who’s becoming schizophrenic and treat it then instead of waiting until they’re 40 ... that will save us money in the long run,” Persinger said.
The conversation turned to the current debate in Washington about health-care reform and the push for government control of the industry.
“I think the quality of health care will suffer” under government control, Barnett said. “Private plans can’t keep up to a federal plan that has access to the Treasury. I think competition is healthy, and I think health-care decisions should be made by doctors, not by the government.”
The uninsured should be able to have coverage, Barnett said, and people who are satisfied with their insurance should be able to keep it.
“I don’t think we make insurance affordable by growing government and adding restrictions,” Barnett said. “Government currently struggles to operate Medicare and Medicaid along with providing benefits for veterans. It’s tough for me to believe that government can supply everyone with an adequate level of care.”
Barnett said the coalition and its plans are a work in progress, and he plans to continue policy discussions in locations throughout the 1st District to bring professionals together to find solutions that focus on access and affordability.
driveonby (anonymous) says...
Jack NIcholson quote, " I wouldn't take him to a dog fight if he was the defending champ," Dr. Barnett has made it plain, in my opinion, who he represents. That IS the so called health professionals, i.e., insurance companies, drug companies, hospital management groups. These are the ones who have CAUSED the cost to skyrocket 300% since 1992. The odds of our doctor conflicting with these powerful lobby groups is NIL! Hopefully some of our hard hitting journalists are asking how much HE has gotten from these groups, directly and indirectly, (trips). Fool me once shame on YOU, fool me a hundred times SHAME ON ME!!
July 30, 2009 at 1:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )