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By Linda Burchette
Assistant Editor
Jefferson Post

"Health care is the number one issue we’re hearing about from people in the district," said Congresswoman Virginia Foxx last Wednesday at the State of Health and Quality of Life Community Forum. Their concerns, she added, involve costs, availability and services.

Ashe County was the ninth county in four days in which Foxx said she has been addressing the issue of health care.

"We are asking people for specific suggestions on what the federal government can do to lower health care costs, because that is where I can help," Foxx said. "Also, how does the federal government drive up the costs of health care?"

Foxx told the group gathered at Jefferson United Methodist Church that 25 to 40 percent of the cost of health care comes from paperwork involving rules and regulations. "Whatever we can do to diminish the paperwork will help cut health care costs," she said.

Foxx said she believes people need to take responsibility for their own health. "Individual responsibility is important," she said. "Lifestyle impacts the cost of health care, and I believe someday the ability to get insurance will be based on lifestyle. A ‘heightened sense of entitlement and a diminished sense of responsibility’ is how I’ve heard it described, and that encapsulates much of the problem."

Medical malpractice insurance is also driving up health care costs, Foxx said, and controlling this is important to cutting costs.

"I am committed to doing what I can to help cut costs on the federal level," she said.

During a meeting with local health care providers, Foxx discussed specific topics such as prescription drugs, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, and decision making on the local level.

Foxx told Ashe Services for Aging Executive Director Jane Banks that she will look into helping simplify paperwork on the new Medicare prescription drug card, but that it is unlikely legislation will be reopened on this issue because of controversy. Banks said her agency has had over 600 inquiries on the card in the past few months and the paperwork is daunting to the staff and the clients.

Banks also noted that her agency pays half a million dollars a year for health insurance for the staff who must then pay tremendous premiums and therefore often resist getting expensive tests because of the high up-front costs.

Foxx said there is no easy answer or fix, and that people for too long have not taken responsibility for their own health expecting instead a pill or shot to fix the problem.

Danny Staley with the Appalachian District Health Department said he is glad to hear comments about people taking more responsibility for their health care and to focus on preventive measures such as good nutrition and exercise, something the health department encourages with its clients.

Staley also wondered why flu vaccines are not produced in the United States, and Foxx said it is because of law suits. "People have come to expect perfection, and there is no perfection," she said. "Negligence should be punished, but people can’t be held accountable for acts of God."

Ashe Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Officer R.D. Williams said Foxx hit the nail on the head when she mentioned torte reform, and dealing with the skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance. It is also vital, he said, to compensate health care providers for Medicaid patients or accessibility will plummet leaving millions without care.

When questioned about the role of lobbyists in health care issues, Foxx said hat when she was in the General Assembly, special interest couldn’t possibly offer enough money to buy her vote and that is still true for her position in Congress.

"Lobbyist is not a four-letter word in my opinion," she said. "They come and share concerns and how a bill will impact them. A lobbyist can at times help you understand the implications of a bill you’re passing. Things are a lot more complicated in Washington than good or bad, right or wrong. There are 25 sides to every issue."

Foxx said she has been busy setting up her local offices, and she hopes to have her Boone office open this week.