On the campaign trail for New Hampshire's second district Congress seat, Democratic candidate Paul Hodes '72 stopped in Hanover last night to moderate a panel on healthcare.
Hodes described the forum as an opportunity to highlight an issue important to voters and offer his own perspective as a congressional candidate. He favors reducing healthcare costs over shifting costs to another economic sector.
Five healthcare experts served as panelists on issues ranging from the details of the Kerry health plan to crises in children's health insurance.
Panelist Dr. Stuart Altman, Professor of National Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy & Management at Brandeis University, served as a primary advisor to John Kerry's campaign on healthcare and health policy. Altman informed the audience that 75 percent of the uninsured are actually workers who want insurance but are not provided it while serving in marginal or low-income jobs.
"This is the most important social problem we have. Isn't it worth spending government money on?" he said.
Altman touched only lightly on the cost of the Kerry health plan, which he estimated at $176.3 million from 2005-2009.
Manchester pediatrician Rob Nordgren spoke about children's health insurance and the strain being put on healthcare safety nets and community health centers. With so many important developments in healthcare, it has become both a social and moral issue that the 20 percent of children in poverty receive access to healthcare, he said.
In addition, fewer and fewer Americans are receiving health insurance through their employers each year. Nordgren called the trend unsustainable and predicted it will inevitably lead to a huge crisis if health care reform is not undertaken. For employers, the cost of premiums has jumped almost ten times as fast as profits, and employers must cut benefits, absorb the loss or pass on costs to consumers.
Dr. Steven Mirin, who directs the Cambridge Management Group, described healthcare as a campaign issue.
He said that the Bush administration has focused on the top three voter concerns, but questioned whether the Bush administration is making a tactical mistake by concentrating less on the issue of healthcare.
In response, Democratic voters at the panel voiced concerns that Kerry's plan lacks the clear sound bites and simple, everyman appeal of Bush's.
Nevertheless, Hodes was optimistic. "As a congressman, I will be a powerful voice for reform of the health care system, repeal of the current Medicare reform bill, repair or repeal of No Child Left Behind and sound policies of fiscal responsibility," Hodes said.
"And I expect to be working with the Kerry-Edwards administration to help move this country forward."
