The Berrien County Republican Party hosted a healthcare forum in Berrien Springs on Wednesday. The event brought together a wide range of panelists -- including doctors, insurance experts, city officials, and an representative of Congressman Fred Upton's office. County GOP Chairman Mike Garey says that the goal was for everyone to agree on a list of about five things that could be changed to fix healthcare in America:
The event was hosted by the Republican Party. However, Garey says that panelists were selected not because of their political leanings, but because of their backgrounds in the healthcare field:
A few even backed the idea of a "public option", and many agreed that a mandate to have health insurance should come with any reform plan. Garey said reform should come from the ground up, and assembling a group of local experts on the issue gave it perspective:
All of the panelists agreed that a standardized electronic health records system would greatly improve care and cut costs, and some recommended that the federal government pay for such a system's implementation. Garey says the consensus seemed to be around that idea of reducing costs:
The panel will meet again, and then send a list of four or five priorities to Congressman Fred Upton, which he might bring to any future health care debate:
The importance of preventive care was also stressed, with many backing the idea of giving insurance customers incentives to live better. Mark Ratner, from Fred Upton's office, said that several of the panel's suggestions have been discussed in Washington before, and he'd fill the congressman in on what happened at Wednesday's forum.
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