Today at Talk Radio News

Correspondent Dawn Jones will be attending a press conference where Elizabeth Edwards will discuss a new campaign ad to encourage quality, affordable healthcare for every American.

The Washington Bureau will also be covering presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) speech to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), as well as Sen. Barack Obama's remarks to the LULAC at the 79th Annual National Convention and Exposition.

Other events include a discussion on "Scholars and Scribes Review the Rulings: The Supreme Court's 2007-2008 Term", the Fourth Annual 2008 National Conference where John Edwards will be making opening remarks and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), actor Ryan Gosling and Sayeda Fazel of the University of California will discuss "How Activism and the Arts can Fight Global Crises Together", discussion of U.S. immigration policy with Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), a conference call with Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin and economic adviser to John McCain Steve Forbes regarding Sen. Barack Obama's economic plan, and another conference call where Assistant Minority Leader State Rep. Todd Book (D-Ohio) and Chillicothe Mayor Joe Sulzer will discuss the impact of the Bush Administration's economic policies on Southeastern Ohio.

U.S. health care "unacceptable" and "un-American"

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on “H.R. 3014, Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2007,” in order to discuss how to improve the health of minority individuals in the U.S. Vice Chairman Lois Capps (D-Calif.) said that the U.S. needs this bill “now more than ever,” and that it is embarrassing that the U.S. cannot extend health care to every citizen. Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) said that it is time for Congress to put the best ideas and practices together and bridge the gap of health disparities.

Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) said that Houston has the third largest Hispanic population in the U.S. and the lack of access to health care for them continues to be a huge barrier. Green explained that half of the total uninsured population in his district consisted of minorities. Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) said that the existence of racial and ethnic health disparities in every aspect of health care is well documented. Dingell also said that “in a country as great as ours,” the idea that one’s ethnic or racial background factors into their chance of living a healthy and productive life is “simply unacceptable.” Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) said that the U.S. health care system is “unacceptable and un-American.”

Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that prevention and control of diseases, along with protection and promotion of the health of the American people are the primary mandate of public health. Clyburn also explained that in 2005 a United Nations Development Program report entitled: Inequality in the United States Healthcare System, said that U.S. private-public health care system should not be used as a model for other countries. Clyburn said that he has seen too many friends and family who have died from diseases that the bill aims to address, and he came to testify on behalf of those who don’t have health care.

Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said that health care access and affordability is the number one issue the U.S. faces today. The health care bill, Moran said, is about “saving lives today.” Moran explained that Americans living in rural cities can also be considered minorities. He said that elderly, rural Americans are more likely to have a chronic disease and less likely to receive the recommended pre-screenings, preventive screenings, and checkups.

Long term health care budget likened to a dysfunctional relationship

The long term budget outlook for slowing the growth of health care costs was discussed at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Panelist Dr. Peter R. Orszag, Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), gave the analogy of a dysfunctional relationship to illustrate the unsustainable state of the federal budget. Orszag said that, like such a relationship, there was no telling how long the budget would last but the end was bound to be messy.

Panelist Mr. Gene Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) cautioned that Social Security cash surplus would start declining in 2011. Dodaro said that this would force increased borrowing from the public, reduced spending or increased revenue. Dodaro also said that American standard of living would be affected in terms of how the types of services would be funded.

Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) noted that Congress would be able to help more if given more data regarding health care costs and guidelines. Orszag agreed and discussed ways to constrain costs without adversely affecting health benefits. Orszag recommended increasing the salience of health costs and improving health care efficiency. He said that might result in a change in cost-consciousness which would shift demand. Orszag also recommended generating more information about effectiveness and changing incentives such that people pay for ‘better care and not just more care’. Lastly, Orszag stressed the importance of adopting measures that promote healthier living such as increasing cigarette tax to discourage smoking.

U.S. health care system is not up to snuff

Today in a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, business owners from across the country met with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) about trends in employer-sponsored health coverage. Small and large business owners discussed their concerns with health care costs and urged Congress to make some changes in 2009.

Fixing health care is a top priority and an urgent priority, said Andrew Stern, from the Service Employees International Union. Stern advised Congress to create affordable alternatives to job-based health care that will provide more predictable costs to small business owners, workers and students. Under the new legislation, insurers should not be allowed to discriminate on the basis of health status, age or other factors.

About 60 percent of employees are insured through their employers, but this hearing showed that employers are concerned about the high costs they will have to pay in the future in private health care costs. Carl Redman, from Innovation Construction and Bear Electric, said that Congress and small business owners need to band together and negotiate plans with insurance agencies to get smaller premiums and more affordable health care coverage.

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.