Union distorts Bob Schaffer’s health policy
October 16th, 2008 | by Brian Schwartz |
From the “Rocky Truth Patrol” (Rocky Mountain News):
Claim: Bob Schaffer let corporations cut corners, stick families with higher health costs.
Rocky Truth Patrol says: Just Wrong
This charge came in a mailer sent by the Service Employees International Union. It shows a caricature of a Monopoly-style CEO gleefully tossing cash in the air.
The mailing contends that “Bob Schaffer’s health care record puts corporate profits over the needs of Colorado families.” It adds that Schaffer “supports a health care plan that lets big corporations cut corners on costs by sticking their employees with higher out-of-pocket health care costs and less coverage.”
The source for these claims is a 2004 story in our own Rocky Mountain News that ran when Schaffer was vying for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate against Pete Coors.
tags: Colorado health care, unionsHere’s the quote from the story: “Schaffer outlines a free-market solution to rising health care costs. The problem, he says, is Americans are disconnected from the price of care. If they know an insurance company will pay for treatment, he asks, then what encourages patients to make cost-effective choices? His proposal: accounts that would allow people to save money, tax-free, for health coverage, and spend at their discretion. Let insurance kick in much later. Give unemployed Americans a refundable tax credit that acts as a voucher for indigent health care.”
Schaffer’s campaign manager, Wadhams, said the Rocky story accurately reflects Schaffer’s current views on health care. He supports McCain’s health care proposals and backs health savings accounts. Schaffer believes that individuals deserve the same tax incentives that businesses receive to spur them to spend health dollars wisely.
The mailer goes too far and doesn’t present any evidence that Schaffer wants corporations to “cut corners” and “stick” employees with higher out-of-pocket costs.
The union and the Schaffer camp have an honest disagreement over health care policy. The union supports a single-payer system to boost access to quality health care, while Schaffer backs a system of tax rebates to provide better care.
