Congressman Tim Walz held a health care town hall meeting in Mankato on Thursday evening, August 20. Several of us were there. Here are some statements from that meeting, made by our congressman. They are paraphrased, quotes will come after video is analyzed.

“Tort reform is not a big part of the health care cost problem.”
Results in Texas after tort reform indicate a 35% reduction in practice insurance rates and an influx of physicians. See this WSJ article.

“That’s right.”
A response to Mayo Clinic’s health policy leader Dr. Doug Wood that, “Value based reimbursement is what health care reform should look like.”
It’s not in H.R.3200.

“Charles Krauthammer may be right: paying for preventive care will not save money.”
It’s in H.R.3200 Sec.122 and 1305 and elsewhere. Krauthammer’s article is at the Washington Post and an other is here.

“The Congressional Budget Office says the Cap and Trade bill – Walz voted for – will cost about $175 per year per family.”
Congressman Walz wanted us to believe that fact or discard what the CBO is saying about H.R.3200 (below). The problem is, the CBO’s statement about Cap and Trade was only referring to the administrative costs to RUN the program, not the economic impacts DUE TO the program. Even President Obama has admitted that, “under my cap and trade plan, energy costs will necessarily skyrocket.” Do you know anybody who buys energy or things that rely on energy to get to where they’re purchased or used? That’s right: everybody and just about everything. Their prices are going to go up. For everybody. But it’s not a tax increase. Uh uh. Just a government program. The WSJ covered the CBO report and YouTube has a video of the President’s statement.

“The only bill I will support must be deficit neutral.”
Our congressman wants us to believe the CBO on Cap and Trade (see above). Here’s an excerpt from the CBO’s report on H.R.3200, page 2:

“…enacting H.R.3200 would result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010-2019 period. That estimate reflects a projected 10-year cost of the bill’s insurance coverage provisions of $1,042 billion…”

“In sections 1047-1052, if we base the public option on Medicaid, it’s no good.”

“We want choice and portability.”
Free markets give us choice. We don’t need a public option for health insurance any more than for car insurance or fast food. Health insurance is made artificially more expensive by state mandates. Minnesota has more health insurance mandates than any other state. Portability could be assisted by encouraging insurance purchases by individuals instead of as employer-supplied benefits. Then, coverage is not affected by job changes.

“I think [tax equivalence for businesses and individuals paying for health insurance] is important”
It’s not in H.R.3200.

“On June 15 there was no Republican plan.”
On June 15, there was no Democratic plan. The Democrat’s H.R.3200 was not introduced until July 14. There is no Democratic health care plan introduced in the Senate. The Republican’s Patient’s Choice Act was introduced in the Senate, S.1099, and in the House, H.R.2520, on May 20. As of this writing, S.1099 remains buried by Democrat Max Baucus’ Finance Committee and H.R.2520 by Democrat Charles Rangel’s Ways and Means Committee. Is Tim Walz misleading his constituents or “just” uninformed?