Monday, January 30, 2006
Ken Arnold Answers Chicago Tribune Question 1 - Health Care
Ken Arnold, one of the candidates for the Republican nomination for Congress in the 8th district has allowed McHenry County Blog to publish his answers to the Chicago Tribune's questionnaire. Here is his answer to the first quesiton on health care, a speciality of his. He is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist.
1. Health care costs continue to outpace general inflation and millions of Americans go without health insurance, either by choice or out of necessity. How should Congress address the issues of health care access and affordability? Please be specific.
COST and QUALITY are the two keys to both our national healthcare system and the insurance marketplace that is dependent upon it (this includes Medicaid and Medicare, too). If we increase quality (e.g. lower mortality, lesser complications, better coordination between providers, etc.) we lower cost. And if we increase the administrative efficiencies of the system, we lower cost. With materially lower costs in the system, we will thereby greatly enhance the access and affordability of healthcare. More employers and private citizens will be able to participate in such coverages because affordability will be greatly enhanced. And more employers and more insurance companies will offer coverages to a wider market because there will be increased demand by such increase in affordability. But how do we do this?
Candidate Ken Arnold, over a decade ago, showed the way by proposing and submitting to then Congressman Phil Crane his “Consumer Healthcare Information Program” (CHIP). [See attached]. This program FINALLY makes the healthcare system a free market (it has not been previously). It allows consumers to have cost and quality data (via mortality and cost statistics) on every healthcare provider. By having such consumer information, consumers themselves can discipline the marketplace to these desirable ends – rewarding high quality/low cost providers and driving out of the marketplace low quality/high cost providers.
In addition to the above creative initiative developed by Ken, he has also more recently developed the Prescription Equality Act of 2007 (PEA). [See attached] This program simply, and thereby eloquently, well addresses the current high cost of drugs in the U.S. while simultaneously addressing the issues of Canadian drug re-importation and America’s sense of fairness among all countries of the world.
Ken Arnold is the ONLY candidate on both sides of this 8th District race (and for that matter, all of Congress) who is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and has designed, administered, and managed both healthcare and retirement income plans. These programs comprise over half of the entire Federal budget. Isn’t it about time we send to Washington SOMEBODY who knows by education and experience what they’re talking about in these areas in current crises?
1. Health care costs continue to outpace general inflation and millions of Americans go without health insurance, either by choice or out of necessity. How should Congress address the issues of health care access and affordability? Please be specific.
COST and QUALITY are the two keys to both our national healthcare system and the insurance marketplace that is dependent upon it (this includes Medicaid and Medicare, too). If we increase quality (e.g. lower mortality, lesser complications, better coordination between providers, etc.) we lower cost. And if we increase the administrative efficiencies of the system, we lower cost. With materially lower costs in the system, we will thereby greatly enhance the access and affordability of healthcare. More employers and private citizens will be able to participate in such coverages because affordability will be greatly enhanced. And more employers and more insurance companies will offer coverages to a wider market because there will be increased demand by such increase in affordability. But how do we do this?
Candidate Ken Arnold, over a decade ago, showed the way by proposing and submitting to then Congressman Phil Crane his “Consumer Healthcare Information Program” (CHIP). [See attached]. This program FINALLY makes the healthcare system a free market (it has not been previously). It allows consumers to have cost and quality data (via mortality and cost statistics) on every healthcare provider. By having such consumer information, consumers themselves can discipline the marketplace to these desirable ends – rewarding high quality/low cost providers and driving out of the marketplace low quality/high cost providers.
In addition to the above creative initiative developed by Ken, he has also more recently developed the Prescription Equality Act of 2007 (PEA). [See attached] This program simply, and thereby eloquently, well addresses the current high cost of drugs in the U.S. while simultaneously addressing the issues of Canadian drug re-importation and America’s sense of fairness among all countries of the world.
Ken Arnold is the ONLY candidate on both sides of this 8th District race (and for that matter, all of Congress) who is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and has designed, administered, and managed both healthcare and retirement income plans. These programs comprise over half of the entire Federal budget. Isn’t it about time we send to Washington SOMEBODY who knows by education and experience what they’re talking about in these areas in current crises?
