Nebraska group in Columbus to tout health care reform

Adrian Sanchez
COLUMBUS, Nov 10, 2009 (Columbus Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

The "Vote Yes" ambulance tour stopped in Columbus Monday to highlight the need for health insurance and advocate for health care reform.

The tour, sponsored by Nebraska Change That Works, is an effort to host roundtables and advocacy training to show how people can take action to help pass reform.

Jane Kleeb, director of Nebraska Change That Works, said they are visiting Nebraska communities to talk with local business leaders and health care professionals to discuss their views on health care and rally supporters to contact their representatives.

More than a dozen people attended the advocacy training at Immanuel Lutheran Church Family Life Center. During the roundtable discussion held at Picket Fence, the organization was joined by representatives from Behlen Mfg. Co. and the East Central District Health Department (ECDHD) as well as AARP, American Cancer Society and Nebraska Appleseed.

Tony Raimondo Jr., Behlen Country president, said from a business perspective more affordable health care would enable American companies to be more competitive with foreign businesses.

"I love business, I love competition ... (but) we're not getting what we're paying for," Raimondo said, so "we need reform so we have a more efficient system."

Rebecca Rayman, executive director of the ECDHD, said she sees health care reform as a necessity, because many people are being priced out of health care and even those with access are statistically not living as long as comparable countries with lower average health care costs.

"We are spending more, but people are not living longer," Rayman said.

She said of the individuals who utilize ECDHD services, more than 50 percent of them are uninsured, and each day a patient enters the facility who should have sought care much earlier and might have had they been insured.

Dustin Perchal, Nebraska grassroots manager for the American Cancer Society, said the reason for the society's support of the health care reform is to help save lives and increase the cancer survival rate.

Studies have found "people without insurance are diagnosed with later stages of cancer," Perchal said, and it is not uncommon for those diagnosed with cancer or undergoing treatment to either be denied coverage or dropped.

"Health care reform needs to happen," he said, because it will end up saving lives.

Mark Intermill, associate state director for advocacy of AARP Nebraska, agreed the issue is a matter of life and death.

And despite reports reform would adversely affect their constituency, Intermill said after reading the House bill he labeled those reports as mischaracterizations of what is being presented.

"We don't see this is going to adversely affect care provided by Medicare," he said. The "actual proposals are very centered ... (and) really would change health care for the better."

A positive change, according to Jennifer Carter, staff attorney for Nebraska Appleseed, is greater affordability and access for low-income families.

Rayman said the two critical issues she would like to see health care reform address are preventive care and care coordination.

She also addressed concerns commonly cited by opponents regarding rationing of care and government take over of health care.

"Insurance companies are already telling us how to manage care," Rayman said, and the government is already involved in multiple systems including Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare.

"We already have public programs in the U.S.," she said.