Health Care Solutions

Last edited: October 13, 2008

We face a healthcare crisis in Kansas, as more and more citizens are out of work and uninsured. While some aspects of this problem require attention from the United States Government, there are common sense solutions that we can implement in Kansas to make healthcare more easily accessible while driving costs down.

Reduce Costs on Doctors to Increase Supply

We have a supply problem as demand for healthcare has risen to historic levels. There simply are not enough doctors and nurses to provide the care that Kansas families require. This problem is one that can be solved by simplifying regulation, integrating new technology, and ensuring that doctors are not being crushed with bureaucratic red tape.

Kansas must simplify regulation for medical providers so that doctors and nurses can provide much needed medical care to patients who are desperate for that care without additional bureaucratic red tape.  We must increase incentives to new technology to ease compliance as well as allowing for access to medical records with a patient’s consent. By doing so, we will encourage a whole new generation of doctors and nurses to enter the field to provide care to Kansans from all walks of life.

Fight for Fair Premium Prices

When a utility company raises their rates to customers, they are required to clear that raise by proving that it is dependent on cost increases.  A system similar to that of our utility board is one that could be utilized to stabilize healthcare costs for families.

Our neighbors in Colorado have implemented a policy to force medical insurance companies to apply the same standard to rate increases, and we should follow Colorado’s lead to implement that policy here in Kansas. I will fight for this legislation because it ensures that Kansas workers can get the care they need at a hospital without leaving their life savings behind.

Improve Access to Veterans Care

The Kansas Veterans Administration has consistently ranked well below average in providing benefits to our brave men and women when they return home, forcing many heroes to go unnecessarily uninsured.  We can stop breaking our promise to these noble American patriots by adding a service officer in Johnson County so that our veterans are able to get the benefits they deserve without driving halfway across the state.

By providing our veterans with a service officer, we will bring the number of uninsured citizens in this state down.  As our brave servicemen and women and women are given the benefits they are entitled to by the federal government, Kansas hospitals will see fewer uninsured patients, driving the costs for Olathe families down.

This solution is not only the right thing to do, it saves both the state and industry millions in costs.