Cheshire/ Wallingford LWV health care forum features Congressman Murphy

There were concerns that Saturday’s forum on health care might get ugly, but thankfully everyone stuck to the issues – what should Congress do now about health care reform. Congressman Murphy said that health care is a very personal, hot button issue and it should be. We have to look very hard at what we are spending and what value we get for all of it. Congress needs to “take a breath” and consider how to move forward. Speakers noted that the need for reform hasn’t changed because the political landscape has shifted. In the last ten years, CT families’ premiums rose 7.4 times faster than our incomes. One in ten CT residents is uninsured; three CT residents die every week because they aren’t covered. The US spends far more than any other country on health care but we lag on most measures of quality. All speakers agreed that doing nothing is not a viable option.
Speakers included Cynthia Russo of Midstate Medical Center, Dr. Phil Brewer of Quinnipiac University Student Health Services, Daniel Diaz Del Valle of Innovative Partners and me. Slides are online.
Ellen Andrews