“Itis shocking and sad that so many Wisconsinresidents have already died needlessly for the profits of the health insuranceindustry and other special interests,” said Robert Kraig, executive director ofCitizen Action of Wisconsin.
It’seasy to get caught up in the political twists and turns of the legislativeprocess. But it’s imperative that workers, voters, business owners and electedofficials keep their eyes on the goal: enacting health care reform thatimproves access for those who don’t have adequate insurance, and reducing costsfor those who purchase insurancegovernments, employers, workers andindividualsas well as health care providers.
Webelieve that the best way to achieve this is by adding a nonprofit publicoption for consumers. Both Sen. Herb Kohl and Sen. Russ Feingold have statedthat they’d support a public option if it “creates a level playing field”(Kohl) or reduces the deficit (Feingold). The public option isn’t the onlymechanism that can be used, of course, but any reform package must lower costsand improve access, period.
Thetime to act is now. But Congress won’t act unless it understands that voterswant true reformthat voters need true reform. Contact your member of Congress.Seize the moment before it slips away for another 15 years and thousands moredie prematurely from lack of access to health care.
Heroes of the Week
Students at Riverside University High School
Higher education oftencomes with a daunting price tag. Students can save money in college byobtaining college credits while still in high school through Advanced Placement(AP) classes. College-bound students enrolled in these challenging AdvancedPlacement courses must pay $60 for each year-end exam. Bonnie Brusky, whoteaches AP English composition at Riverside University High School, has drawninspiration from her students, who have banded together to raise money throughbake sales to cover the exam fees for classmates who lack the funds to registerfor these all-important tests.
For taking theinitiative in helping themselves and their fellow classmates on the path tohigher learning, the Shepherd makesthe students at Riverside University High School our “Heroes of the Week.”
Jerk of the Week
Gov. Jim Doyle
Evenbefore last week’s announcement that Wisconsinwould not receive federal “Race to the Top” money in its first round offunding, Gov. Jim Doyle lashed out at Milwaukeeand the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) for the state’s relatively weak applicationfor those funds. More than once, Doyle has erroneously claimed that MPSgovernance must change for the state to receive a lump sum from the feds. So itwas no surprise that Doyle again disparaged Milwaukee last week instead of looking at thefacts.
Andthese are the facts: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan specifically statedthat governance change was not necessary for the funds. Of the 16 finalists,only four have mayor-led districts. It’s been known for months that Wisconsin was not a topcontender for first-round funding, with or without changing MPS governance. Andthe state’s application didn’t include any major statewide reform efforts that Duncan was interested infunding.
Butinstead of looking at the facts, Doyle once again demonized Milwaukee and MPS for not going along withhis fanatical quest to change the governance of the public schools. Milwaukee voters andlegislators should not be intimidated by the lame-duck governor’s scaretactics.