Health Care Forum Tonight

Monday, September 10, 2007
Topics: Politics, Health
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Two democratic state legislators will share different plans on how to get uninsured Ohioans health care at a forum tonight. ideastream's Tasha Flournoy has more on their proposals.

Both lawmakers say they’re advocating universal health care, but the similarities in their plans end there.

Representative Michael Skindell of Lakewood is co-sponsor of the Healthcare For All Ohioans Act, a single payer plan that Democrats have been pushing for years.  That plan would eliminate private health insurance and place the health care burden on employers and government.

Representative Armond Budish of Beachwood says he plans to introduce a bill later this month that will expand Medicaid for adults and make private insurance available to all.  He says his plan will work within the existing government programs and prevent health care coverage from becoming a partisan issue.

Armond Budish: His is single payer. It would significantly change what we have today. My plan tries to work with the various programs that we already have today. Expanding them, making them more available for people so that everybody can be covered.

About 1.3 million Ohioans are currently without insurance.  Budish and Skindell will participate in a health care forum at 7:00 PM tonight at the Cleveland Heights main library.

Tasha Flournoy, 90.3.