Sharon Ullman on Health Care
NEWS RELEASE – Boise, Idaho – April 11, 2010
Ullman on Health Care
Sharon Ullman, Republican gubernatorial candidate and Ada County Commissioner, believes in taking a proactive approach to health care solutions. Using Ben Franklin’s famous quote, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, Ms Ullman believes that solutions to health care can begin locally. She commented that although health care reform is needed, she does not believe that the Obama administration has found the solution.
Rejecting Obama’s program is a good first step Ms. Ullman said, but it ultimately does nothing to solve the problem. In fact, last year, Governor Butch Otter tried to pass $6.2 million worth of state health care expense down to county property taxpayers. She believes that “as taxpayers, we pay the bills for people who cannot afford medical care yet end up in emergency rooms – sometimes with conditions that could have been prevented with relatively inexpensive preventative care services. In addition, many people who go to the emergency room at taxpayer expense aren’t in critical condition, but they cannot obtain medical care elsewhere because they are uninsured or cannot afford to pay a doctor”.
She suggests there are simple changes that can be made in our current health care system that will address some of the challenges, such as allowing the sale and purchase of health insurance across state lines. She says that more competition should lead to lower rates.
On a local level, she has come up with another piece of the solution. With the support of her Board colleagues, Ms. Ullman has been working on a pilot project to cut costs for both county and state taxpayers for people who are unable to pay for their own medical care.
Ada County has teamed up with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, the Central District Health Department, and Idaho State University, the state’s designated Health Sciences University, to implement preventative health care screenings. ISU students in nursing, pharmacy, dental, nutrition, counseling and other programs get opportunities to obtain hands-on training and experience with this newly implemented screening program. The sponsoring agencies’ hope to curb the number of patients who seek costly medical health services in an emergency room setting at taxpayer expense.
The preventative medical screening makes possible the detection of medical problems, at which time the patient is provided information on how to obtain low-cost treatment at clinics that provide services on a sliding-scale basis. “By bringing these students, with appropriate supervision by instructors, into the community to provide no-cost preventative health care screenings, everyone benefits”, Ms. Ullman recounts.
The next screening in Ada County will take place on Friday, April 23, from 3 – 7 p.m. at the Vineyard Christian Church. Ms. Ullman further stated that it is the participating agencies’ goal to implement a similar program in other counties throughout the state.
The purpose of this health care pilot project is to promote personal responsibility for one’s own health through the provision of easily obtainable and affordable preventative health care services. This will, in turn, lead to healthier people and less of a financial burden on Idaho taxpayers.
While the national healthcare debate rages on, in Ada County, community leaders are already doing something about the problem. Preventative health care education and screenings by students is solution-based government in action. It’s not the entire solution but it effectively helps people to help themselves and will ultimately save state and local taxpayers’ money as well.
For more information contact Vicky McIntyre, Treasurer for Ullman for Governor at (208) 639-1867, by email atqltyfirst@cableone.net, or write 4466 South Carbine Avenue, Boise, ID 83709 or contact Ms Ullman directly at (208) 440-4652.