We need true health care reform...

I strongly oppose the current “reform” being proposed because I do not view it as reform at all. It is simply more regulation and bureaucracy heaped on top of a broken health care delivery system. It does nothing to truly reform health care delivery. To do so would require a much greater effort to analyze the existing problems and improve them.

This federal bill does not contain costs. This federal bill does not improve quality and access. We do not need rhetoric, we need reform. A bill that was in the best interest of America would have widespread support, not division along party lines.

We need to leave behind a health care system dominated by employer-provided health insurance. Health insurance should be personal and portable, controlled by individuals themselves rather than government or an employer.

We need to increase insurance competition among both insurers and health providers. People should be allowed to purchase health insurance across state lines. This simple act alone could cover 17 million uninsured Americans without increasing taxes.

Simply put, this discussion should be taking place at the state level. We do not need more unfunded mandates from the federal government. Vermont ranks first as the healthiest nation in the state. We can clearly tackle this problem far more effectively than a federal approach. The federal bill does nothing more than create a bleeding ulcer out of a case of indigestion.