Gordon calls for reducing excessive health care costs

U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, left, reaches to shake the hand of County Mayor Eugene Ray shortly after arriving at Heritage Medical Center. Gordon spoke to a small group of medical personnel and local elected officials Monday. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, visiting Heritage Medical Center Monday, said health care costs affect everyone and discussed ways to try to bring them under control.

Gordon said he's come face-to-face with health care concerns in recent years. Last November, his mother had an aortic valve replacement, while his daughter had health problems six years ago.

Gordon said that health care spending, as a percentage of gross domestic product, has reached its practical limits.

"There's just not much more money that can be put into the system," said Gordon.

Gordon predicted that the Congress will look at some form of universal health care, but not a government-run "single payer" system. One possibility might be to require some basic level of health insurance, the same way that a certain level of liability insurance is required in order to operate a car. Lower-income groups would receive a subsidy or other assistance to be able to afford to purchase health insurance.

But Gordon said any plan would have to be carefully studied and said that, with such a complex issue, even the best-intentioned legislation may have unintended consequences. Ideas that look good in an academic setting may play out differently in the real world, he said.

"I think there's going to have to be a whole new look at the system, from top to bottom," said Gordon.

A system might include requirements that smokers or the overweight enter some sort of wellness program or else face much steeper premiums.

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Gordon himself has promoted the development of health care information technology, which would allow easier sharing of a patient's medical records among health care providers.

Heritage Medical Center CEO Dan Buckner, while introducing Gordon, praised the Murfreesboro Democrat for his work on the issue. Gordon used the example of someone from Bowling Green, Ky., visiting Shelbyville to attend the Celebration and needing emergency care. An Internet-based system would allow doctors here to access the patient's medical records. Gordon had proposed such a system in the last Congress and said legislation to fund it may be a part of the upcoming stimulus package.

Later, during a question-and-answer session, one audience member asked whether there were privacy concerns with such a system and whether insurance companies would have access to patient information. Gordon said insurance companies would not have access to the information without a patient's permission.

BART GORDON [Order this photo]

Gordon also said that the government should be able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for better prices, and that imported pharmaceuticals should be allowed.

Gordon also said medical malpractice law needs to be reformed, noting the high cost of malpractice insurance and its burden on doctors. He praised Texas for adopting a three-tiered cap on malpractice claims and said it has resulted in doctors moving to Texas.

Stimulus package

On other topics, Gordon said there's bipartisan agreement on 90 percent of the proposed stimulus package -- it's just that last 10 percent which is causing the problem, although Gordon predicted passage by the end of the week.

"The economy has trumped everything else," said Gordon. He said the Treasury will announce this week an improved system for using the second half of the TARP funds for bailing out the financial industry. The early stages of the bailout have been roundly criticized.

Gordon said that if the government is going to spend money to create jobs, it should choose those projects wisely and take the opportunity to make needed infrastructure improvements, such as expanding and improving the nation's electrical grid. He said there will be no "earmarks" at the Congressional level and decisions about which individual road or highway projects to fund will be made by the individual states. The state is ranking stimulus projects according to "shovel-readiness," said Gordon.

In December, the state reported that the Shelbyville bypass was one of 246 "ready-to-go" projects which could be done if stimulus funds were available.

Gordon said he would favor tax credits for those buying homes as a way to help the housing industry, and that banks must be forced to negotiate with those who are behind on their house payments.

Gordon poked fun at himself by recalling that he was recently introduced by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander as the dean of Tennessee's congressional delegation, with Alexander quick to add that the term didn't mean he was the smartest, only the longest-serving.

He also noted, as he often does during Bedford County visits, his family connections in the Normandy and Midland areas.