U.S. Senator Herb Kohl says new federal health care legislation will need some tinkering, but it makes health insurance accessible to more Americans. The Wisconsin Democrat says the cost of health care in the U.S. is higher than in other developed countries around the world.
Sen Kohl (:16)
While at an awards banquet in Fond du Lac this weekend, Kohl said one of the things the bill does is remove caps so families facing serious health crises don’t go bankrupt when they reach insurance limits.
Meanwhile, House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey defended his support of the health care reform package saying it will provide coverage for more than 32 million uninsured Americans, while helping reduce costs.
“We will never get a handle on the federal budget deficit unless we get a handle on health care costs,” said Obey, during a telephone town hall Sunday.
The Wausau Democrat admitted the bill wasn’t perfect but was a compromise that will improve the current system.
Rep. Obey (:12)
Meanwhile the state Republican Party has issued a release blasting Obey’s comments on the tele town hall. “Instead of commenting on the imperfections in the bill after the fact, Congressman Obey should have been working to make negotiations transparent and bipartisan in order to fix what’s broken with our health care system,” said Executive Director Mark Jefferson.
Matt Lehman-WSAU and Bob Nelson-KFIZ contributed to this report