Hartzler- There are far better ways to reform health care than Obama's plan

In her weekly update, Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler observes the first anniversary of the passage of the federal health care plan by offering alternatives:

What a week my team and I had as we traveled to many parts of the 4th Congressional District during our March In-District Work Week. Topping our list of activities was a series of Military Listening Posts we held in four locations: Jefferson City, St. Robert, Warrensburg, and Clinton. The response was tremendous as active duty personnel, veterans, and military families showed up to voice their concerns about numerous issues.


The concern expressed most by the veterans involved the care they receive at VA hospitals. We heard complaints about back logs for disability claims and other services. Several of the veterans on hand for the meetings spoke of the appeals process for rejected claims taking too long. Members of my staff were in attendance at each of the four meetings and gathered information from those with problems needing to be addressed. In the short term, my case workers have already begun making calls on behalf of veterans who had particular complaints. Long term, I am going to be asking a lot of questions to get to the bottom of why these problems exist and I’ll be working with other members of the House Armed Services Committee to eliminate these problems. Our men and women in uniform have given us so much. They were there for us. Now we need to be there for them.

We enjoyed a great day in Lebanon, this week, as well. I had the opportunity to tour two outstanding businesses - one a large manufacturing plant and the other a start-up company doing cutting edge research that could impact our national defense. It is great to see businesses in our district providing needed jobs and quality products. I want to continue to do all I can in Washington to promote job growth so businesses like these will be able to continue to thrive.

The day included the formal opening of the 4th District Congressional office in Lebanon. It's located at 219 North Adams. I enjoyed visiting with the people who came by to welcome us to Lebanon. This is truly one of the best things about my job – the opportunity to meet the people I represent and work for in Congress. I hope you will stop by if you are in the area. We also have office locations at 1900 North Commercial Street in Harrisonville, 2409 Hyde Park in Jefferson City, and in the Pettis County Courthouse in Sedalia. Your staff is here to assist you, so please don't hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance to you or if you have an idea you'd like to share with me on how to improve our government.

The nation marked the first anniversary, this week, of implementation of the new national health care plan. It was a 2,801 page bill that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Obama. I oppose this law and join my U.S. House colleagues in saying there is a better way to get skyrocketing health care costs under control. Last year's bill places burdens on small businesses – burdens that are costly and are destroying jobs. Uncertainty prevents these companies from moving forward with business plans and that includes plans to hire personnel. Many of these businesses can't afford the government-mandated health care for their employees and are cutting back the number of full time workers to avoid having to provide expensive health care coverage.

There is a better prescription for reform to make health care more affordable and accessible. It includes increasing competition and working on solutions to help those with preexisting conditions. Medical liability reform is also essential to cut costs associated with doctors and other health professionals practicing what is known as defensive medicine to ward off lawsuits. We must also allow patients to shop for health insurance plans across state lines to have access to more choices at lower costs. Portability saves money for American families. It is understood that it is much less expensive to prevent health problems than to treat them. Preventative care and wellness programs also make sense and should be part of the solution.

As the week comes to an end we see gasoline prices taking another huge jump. In some parts of the 4th District people are paying close to $4 a gallon. We know that part of the reason for the higher pump prices is the uncertainty in the Middle East. But there is more we can do here in the United States. We learned, this week, that President Obama wants to aid the Brazilian government in its off shore oil drilling ventures. I want to see more oil exploration and drilling in the United States and off the coast of the U.S. I hope all Missourians, both Republicans and Democrats, come together to encourage President Obama to join the push for America to take advantage of our resources. With more of our own energy resources we protect ourselves against being held hostage by Middle East dictators who do not have our best interests at heart.

We’re back to Washington next week with the budget being one of the top priorities. We’re already looking to the 2012 budget as we pass spending proposals for the remainder of 2011. We are going to continue to cut out wasteful government spending and stop spending money we don't have. I’ll keep you up to date on our debt-cutting efforts.