Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Johnson wants health care reform repealed. It’s the issue which got him into the Senate race, and the Oshkosh business owner is unsparing in his criticism of the reform and Democrat Russ Feingold’s vote for it. “I certainly recognize what this health care bill was designed to do,” said Johnson. “It is designed to lead to a single payer, Canadian style, British type system. Obviously, Senator Feingold, that’s exactly what he wants. I have no idea why anybody would want to move in that direction.”
Johnson, who owns Pacor, an Oshkosh plastics firm, said the new health care law will lead to rationing of care, lower quality of care, and that it will hamper medical innovations. “Canada and Britain are actually trying to privatize part of their health care system,” Johnson told WRN. “Those types will lead to rationing . . . particularly for the elderly and for very sick individuals. Quite honestly, American medical innovation, the rest of the world feeds of it. Their socialistic medical systems take advantage of the medical innovations we create here in America. That’s really what’s at risk.”
Johnson, who faces Watertown businessman Dave Westlake in the Republican primary, pledges he’ll work to repeal the health care law. “I think we had the national momentum to do real health care reform,” he said. “I think we just blew it. We could have moved in market-based solutions. I think that’s what we need to do. I’m totally dedicated to repealing this health care bill.”