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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A NH Perspective on Federal Health Reform
By Lisa Kaplan Howe
Director, NH Voices for Health
http://www.nhvoicesforhealth.org/
Watching and reading the news, it’s easy to believe that the tide has turned and public support for health reform has faded. Over the last few weeks, I’ve ridden a rollercoaster that may be familiar to many of you. Going into August recess, I was confident that despite being behind “schedule,” health reform was moving forward and highly likely (if not certain) to happen by the end of the year. But as recess began and news of opposition protests, outbursts and the many, now all-too-famous myths surfaced, I found my confidence wavering. As the weeks have gone on and I have personally witnessed several examples of the strength of support for health reform here in New Hampshire, I have found my confidence returning and the source of my concern shifting.
The most notable recent event, of course, was President Obama’s town hall in Portsmouth. I was lucky enough to attend with a number of others from the NH Voices for Health network. What we all noted was that among the 1,800 attendees inside the event, there was overwhelming support for reform. Sure, there were challenging questions and concerns raised, but the air was alive with strong support for reform and the President’s work to secure it. The strength of support was reflected outside the event as well. On one side of the road were the opponents protesting reform that we have heard a lot about in the media coverage. But on the other side were far more supporters rallying in support of reform. This is the real story taking place on the streets, and was reminiscent of a health reform forum that I recently participated in on the Seacoast. Though there were about 20 folks protesting outside, who came inside to repeat mistruths about reform, there were over a hundred strong supporters gathered inside, who have been working for years to reform our health care system.
NH support for health reform extends beyond consumers. NH Voices for Health recently joined with the Small Business Majority to release a survey of 200 NH small business owners. The survey showed overwhelming support for the federal government reforming the health care system as well as including a public plan option. The demographic breakdown of those surveyed is also telling – 41% were Republicans, 33% were Independents, and 19% were Democrats.
The reasons for the strong and broad support for health reform are clear. By expanding access to coverage, bending the cost curve, improving quality of care and increasing consumer protections, and introducing choice and competition in the insurance industry, reform will increase security and stability for New Hampshire’s families, allow New Hampshire’s small businesses to support a healthy workforce while investing more in their businesses and jobs, reduce the strain health care costs put on our state budget, and strengthen our health care system and economy. The people and small businesses of NH need these changes – that’s what I hear as I talk to people across the state.
My experiences over the last few weeks have reminded me that, at least in New Hampshire (and I venture to guess the same is true across the nation), public support for health reform remains strong and that depictions in the media are distorting and magnifying the extent of the opposition. It’s incumbent on all of us that support reform to make sure our voices and messages are heard as loudly as the opposition so that the mistruths and distortions of public opinion do not undermine the reform we need.
Tags: healthcare reform, Lisa Kaplan Howe, NH Voices for Health, Obama