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Learn more about presidential hopeful Bill Ingram's thoughts on health care, visit his Web page. Take a look at the report on health care costs by the California Health Care Foundation.
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Health care key topic in 2008 presidential election
UW-Eau Claire Public Affairs Reporting Student Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007 Last year, Amber Franke was a UW-Eau Claire senior who was set to graduate in the spring. During her final semester, she began to develop a sharp pain in her side. She went to a doctor's office, where she had X-rays, blood work, and other tests done to try to determine the problem. Franke didn't have to worry about the costs of the tests; her mother’s insurance handled the medical costs. Things became a bit more complicated when the symptoms reappeared a few months ago because the recently graduated Franke was paying for her own insurance now. "I chose the cheapest policy I could find because I am paying for it by myself. I have a deductible of $2,500," Franke said. "Since the tests wouldn't cost enough to reach that level, I can't afford to go in to the doctor." Many American citizens can sympathize with Franke, unable to receive proper or adequate health care. In a Washington Post-ABC News poll, health care rated as the second-most important issue in the 2008 election, right behind the Iraq war. Presidential candidates are catching on, making it a hot issue on the campaign trail. Janice Berry, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as well as a registered nurse, says she’s understands why health care is a top issue in the election. “Being in the health care field and seeing the rising costs with government programs already covering more than 50 percent of the population, it is not surprising,” Berry said. Bill Ingram, of Elk Mound, is running for president as an independent candidate. He said party politics are preventing the system from making real change. One of the main issues of his campaign is “fixing” the health care system. Ingram said mandatory health care is a step too far, stating that it is unfair for the candidates to expect the working class to cover the costs of their policy. “I’m looking to lower health care— get costs down to where they are reasonable,” Ingram said. “I’ve got a goal of $200 for major medical and have people pay for their walk-in visits out of pocket.” Ingram said not allowing people to sue for malpractice could also lower costs. He said doctors are afraid of a malpractice lawsuit and run expensive tests to cover themselves. Eliminating the ability for people to sue doctors for malpractice would free up money to improve different aspects of the health care system, he said. “If you took those millions and millions of dollars the doctors, hospitals are paying towards malpractice insurance,” Ingram said, “and even put a portion of that into hiring new nurses, more doctors, more lab techs, better working condition, then you’d have better service, and it’d be a lot cheaper.” Berry sees a need for change in health care, but said it is not enough to make changes to the health care system; people need to look at how they can help lower costs. “I would like to see a type of universal coverage, but along with it, we need to change the attitudes of the general population,” Berry said. “Prevention needs to be stressed in a strategy to decrease the cost of health care.” According to research done by the California Health Care Foundation, the spending national health care is rising faster than inflation. Research also found a 77 percent increase in the amount of money spent on health care per person since 1995. Even with the money spent on health care, millions of people remain uninsured. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 47 million Americans are uninsured, including 11.7 percent of those under 18. Berry said the number of uninsured and underinsured is the biggest problem facing the health care system today. “Like many people who have coverage, I appreciate my situation,” Berry said. “There are many others though who do not have health care coverage, which should not be acceptable in a country like ours.” Franke agrees. She said that even though she can only go to the doctor in the case of an emergency, it is still reassuring to know she is covered. Nevertheless, with the possibility of small problems becoming larger, she said changes to the health care system should be on top of a presidential candidate’s list. "The cost needs to be lowered,” Franke said. “It's just scary to think that I have to decide between paying the rent or going to the doctor.”
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Presidential candidate Bill
Ingram wants to lower health insurance costs.
