The Wisconsin Tea Party (www.wisconsinteparty.org) is an organization whose members believe in the private sector’s inherent ability to both improve quality and lower costs in health care. As such, we are constantly looking for opportunities for government to assist the markets in performing that function.
Our group and its members have been in the audience and at the podium for too many programs on this issue to count. Invariably, the discussion seems to highlight the differences among parties on both sides of the issue. But maybe there doesn’t have to be sides….
We’ve been listening – really listening – to what is being said at these meetings and what’s being written on blogs such as this one. Undeniably, there are philosophical differences between our group and others about the nature and magnitude of the solution(s) to the health care issues facing our state, but there is also common ground.
We’re not Pollyannaish about politics. Health care is a huge issue this session.
So, where will the issue be when the dust settles?
Last week, we sent a letter to the state legislature encouraging them to introduce legislation to require greater transparency in health care pricing. Along with our letter, we sent to them a copy of legislation that was adopted in Minnesota last year and recently implemented.
As we’ve listened to the health care debate, we’ve heard from almost everyone that transparency is a good thing and that it is an important part of any effort to control rising health care costs. It’s a pretty simple concept, really – tell us what it costs before we purchase health care services, not after.
Information is a powerful tool in the marketplace, regardless of whose dollars are ultimately being spent.
We know that transparency is just one of several areas where progress can and should be made this legislative session. The Wisconsin Tea Party will, in the weeks and months ahead, continue to forward suggestions to the legislature. The time for the legislature to act is now.
Jeffrey Beiriger is the executive director of the Wisconsin Tea Party. For more information, visit www.wisconsinteaparty.org.
