OH-18: Standing Up For Our Health
The following column was written by Rep. Zack Space and submitted to newspapers around the 18th district. -- David
For the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to travel around the 18th Congressional District for a series of roundtable discussions on heath care reform. As I am sure you are aware, one of my top priorities – and that of the 111th Congress – is to reform our health care delivery system to make health coverage affordable to the millions who are uninsured while lowering costs and improving the efficiency of the system. As a member of the committee that will draft this legislation, I know reform is coming, I will be a part of that debate, and I wanted to talk to my constituents first.
Over the course of a week, I invited representatives from the various constituencies who will be impacted by this change to sit down with me in small groups around the district to talk about what this reform should look like. In Coshocton, Cambridge, Zanesville, New Philadelphia, Jackson, Nelsonville, Chillicothe, and St. Clairsville, I spoke with doctors, pharmacists, nurses, hospital administrators, insurance agents, and every-day Ohioans who cannot afford health insurance for their families. I then followed up with telephone town hall meetings all over the district, bringing over 30,000 residents of the district to the table for a live conversation on this important issue.
I learned a number of things that I will take to Washington with me as we start to craft this vital legislation. First and foremost, this health care reform must increase access – not take away the care people have. In other words, if you are happy with the coverage and care you currently receive, you should be allowed to keep it. This reform should not mandate that everyone participate in the same plan; it should expand access so everyone can receive coverage.
Second, and perhaps the most obvious, we need to make insurance affordable for the millions of Americans who do not have it. 81% of uninsured Americans are in either full or part-time working families, but still cannot afford insurance.
Third, we need to encourage people to live healthier lifestyles and visit their primary care physician for maintenance and preventive care. It is much more effective and more cost efficient to treat illness and disease in its early stages than it is to rely on emergency treatment.
Fourth, even if every Ohioan is provided some form of health coverage, it will not be very effective if we do not have the health care providers necessary to care for everyone. Rural Ohio faces a shortage of doctors and nurses that makes obtaining health care difficult for many in our region. Health reform should encourage doctors to serve rural populations, as well as provide training in other health professions to create job opportunities in Southern and Eastern Ohio. As outlined in my RENEW Ohio-18 project, we have ample opportunity to put people to work right here in health care professions.
As we work to reform health care, we must take great care to preserve what is working and fix what is not. That means making sure that every American has the ability to obtain quality health care at an affordable price. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if you have suggestions about how we can make our health care system better.
Congressman Zack Space
