I recently held a telephone town hall meeting where I was able to address many of the details of health care reform with people throughout western Wisconsin.  Over 2,300 constituents called in to hear me discuss health care, share their ideas on the topic, and ask me questions on a variety of health care concerns.  We face unique American challenges in reforming our health care system which will require a unique American solution.  Without health care reform we will continue to pay more and get less.  We need a new health care system that costs less while providing better care than our system today.  Fortunately, in our area, health care providers are showing us by example how this can be done.

Our current health care system pays based on the quantity of health care services provided rather than the quality, taking the focus off the value of care delivered.  For this reason, during the town hall I asked callers how they thought doctors should get paid.

92% said doctors should be paid based on quality of care they provide
 8% said based on number of tests and procedures performed

It is obvious that people in western Wisconsin agree that our current health care system doesn’t value the quality of care enough.  Right now, approximately one-third of money spent on health care, over $600 billion every year, is wasted on care and treatment that doesn’t improve the patient’s health, pushing our country and Wisconsin families further into debt.   If we do nothing to reform our health care system, our economy will continue to suffer.  In fact, in Wisconsin alone health care premiums grew almost five times faster than wages in the last nine years and are predicted to cost families almost 50 percent of their household income by 2016.   

In a tough economic time, reforming the health care system will save money, create jobs, and help put us on a path toward recovery.  We must reform our system to make sure stable coverage is available to everyone even if you get sick or switch jobs.  And we must lower health care costs for everyone, including those who already have coverage, so that more families can afford the quality health care they need.