Salazar, McCain propose health care commission
Group would suggest ways to ‘fix’ system
By Ann Imse
Rocky Mountain News
November 23, 2005
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said Tuesday he has partnered with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to push for an independent commission to develop proposals for comprehensive health care reform.
Salazar said they have sponsored a bill to create such a commission because neither individual Americans nor their employers can afford the soaring costs of health insurance.
“Health care is breaking the backs of American business, American families and the American health care delivery system,” Salazar said in a news conference at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver.
He said 15 percent of the U.S. population is without coverage. In Colorado, the figure is 19 percent, he said.
Salazar said he met with McCain about four months ago and they agreed that health care was one of the nation’s most pressing issues. Yet proposed changes pending in Congress are mere “Band-aids” rather than a comprehensive fix, Salazar said.
More recently, they decided that a bipartisan commission modeled on the 9-11 commission would have the best chance of examining all aspects of the issue and presenting solid legislative proposals for Congress and the president to consider, Salazar said.
Salazar said the attempt to create this commission is “a long-term effort” and that he and McCain will be working after the Thanksgiving holiday to gather support from other members of Congress and President Bush.
The senator immediately won kudos for the idea from Jeff Selberg, CEO of the Exempla group, which owns three hospitals in Denver, including St. Joseph.
The current system, he said, has led to more complexity, less access to health care and higher costs.
Selberg believes state and national hospital organizations will back the commission proposal as well.