Democrat advocates bipartisan approach to health care reform

Aug. 11--With the Senate still unable to pass a promised health care reform bill, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind is continuing his push for a bipartisan way to fix the Affordable Care Act.

To that end, the La Crosse Democrat hosted a health care forum Thursday at UW-Eau Claire at which several of the three dozen people in attendance shared stories about the importance of the existing health care law and the need for more changes.

--Tim Sheehan, executive director of the Menomonie-based Center for Independent Living for Western Wisconsin, told the group that some people with disabilities "literally would die" if access to insurance coverage is reduced as would be the case under the health care plan passed this year by the House of Representatives. He explained that a likely scenario would involve a person receiving a wound, putting off treatment because they don't have coverage and then getting a lethal infection.

--Maribeth Woodford, executive director of the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic, pointed out that the number of patients the organization serves has decreased by about 50 percent since the ACA, often called Obamacare, took effect. As a result, those former clients now receive better, more consistent care than they did when they had to line up outside for hours before the clinic's weekly sessions every Tuesday night, she said, adding, "We can't go back to that."

--Lieske Giese, director of the Eau Claire City-County Health Department, shared that about 4,000 residents of Eau Claire County have medical insurance plans through the ACA marketplace and added that access to that coverage is critical to the health of those individuals.

--Small-business owner Dawn Garcia said she and her husband are forced to pay an unaffordable $1,400 a month for the coverage they receive through the ACA as well as putting up with a $14,000 deductible. "That's the best we can do at this point," said Garcia, owner of the business consulting firm Pursuit of Excellence, indicating that the high cost of health insurance can make it difficult for small businesses to compete for labor.

Kind said he sympathized with the 15 percent of ACA clients who don't qualify for subsidies and said a possible solution might be to expand income limits so more people would be eligible for subsidies.

After the Senate recently failed to pass bills to repeal and replace Obamacare, Kind said the door is open for a bipartisan solution he has been discussing with Republican colleagues.

"Now more than ever, with the failure of the Senate to move forward, this gives us a chance to reset and regroup and find some common group and some things we can move forward on together," Kind said in an interview, noting his opposition to a House GOP plan he maintained would have eliminated health coverage for 24 million Americans to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.

Kind recently unveiled the outline of a health care reform plan he believes could improve some of the weaknesses of Obamacare and also appeal to Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The plan consists of four main principals: stabilize the insurance markets; reduce costs for individuals and small businesses; address rising drug prices; and continue delivery system and payment reform.

Though he acknowledged that many Republicans would rather eviscerate the ACA than work to improve it, Kind went so far as to predict Congress would pass a reform bill based on his plan if leaders allowed it to come up for a vote.

Meanwhile, during an appearance Thursday on CNN's "New Day," U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called Obamacare a "mess" and added, "That's not going away, and we have responsibility to do everything we can to fix that."

A solution will require GOP leadership and President Donald Trump to embrace some of the bipartisan reform ideas rather than just threatening to implode the whole system, Kind said.

"Only time will tell," he said.

Contact: 715-833-9209, [email protected], @ealscoop on Twitter

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