Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Feingold sees crisis in rising health costs
The issue of rising health-care costs has hit "crisis proportions," U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold told several local business leaders at a roundtable session Monday at Western Wisconsin Technical College.
The Wisconsin Democrat promoted his idea of ensuring all Americans have health care coverage, and requiring states to submit a plan to ensure their residents have coverage. He said states would have great flexibility as to how they provide coverage, and that the federal government would provide significant financial and technical assistance, as well as oversight.
Because of soaring health-care costs, Feingold told the business leaders, many business people and health-care leaders are saying, "Look, you've got to do something."
Colleen Kavanaugh, owner of Liberty Title Corp. in La Crosse, told Feingold soaring health- care costs prevent businesses from adding employees.
In some cases, older workers who otherwise would retire have to keep working so they can keep the health insurance their employer provides, said Julie Stansfield of Stansfield Vending Co. in La Crosse. She also said "it's a little bit scary" to discuss health-care reform.
Jay Fernholz, a Holmen, Wis., landscape architect, told Feingold he worries about the increase in the number of fund-raising events for people who have a medical emergency and have no insurance or inadequate insurance. "They have those in Holmen all the time," he said.
Later Monday, Feingold told the Tribune's editorial board that in his nearly 12 years as a U.S. senator, health care is the issue he has heard the most about at listening sessions.
"And in the last two years in particular, the issues we've heard the most about are health care in relation to the costs for small businesses of health insurance and job loss," Feingold said. There is a relationship between high health-care costs and inability to add jobs, he said.
Feingold said he has introduced a bill that would create a process to force congressional leadership to bring up the issue of health care reform in a timely manner. When he introduced the bill in June, he said almost 44 million Americans are uninsured.
"I think it is time, that there is a national consensus that we've got to do something aggressive about it," Feingold said of health-care reform.
He also said he was instrumental in passing legislation that will result in an additional $200 million in federal Medicare dollars for Wisconsin during the next 10 years. This will reduce inequities in Medicare reimbursement payments, he said.
Steve Cahalan can be reached at (608) 791-8229 or scahalan@lacrossetribune.com.
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