No magic bullet for health care

Representative Charles Boustany (Rep-La.) said that there is no single magic bullet to solve health care at a panel held at the 2008 National Small Business Summit at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. He stressed the importance of making all healthcare local and to better define the difference between health coverage and health access for small business owners and their employees.

When asked why health care costs are going up, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) gave reasons that included increased longevity of people and that more people are uninsured. She also pointed out that a large portion of America’s troops lacked medical and dental coverage because they too worked in small businesses prior to enlisting.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) encouraged the crowd of small business owners by describing the significant bipartisan support that the health care bill has by fourteen members of the Senate. In his opinion, there is not need to raise taxes to deal with health care. Wyden said that the government was spending enough on health care but not in the right places.

Stuart Butler, Ph. D. urged the government to reorganize but not to meddle with what already works for the American workforce. He said that currently, one in every US$6 is spent on healthcare. In twenty years, it is projected to be one in every US$3.