This is the text of an e-mail Gov. Kathleen Sebelius sent to supporters on April 17, 2007:
If you’ve struggled to pay for medical care lately, worried about the cost or availability of health insurance, or use prescription medication, then it probably comes as no surprise:
We are facing a health care crisis here in Kansas and across the nation.
One-in-ten Kansans has no health insurance coverage at all. And for those of us fortunate enough to have insurance, our monthly payments are climbing; and we’re getting stuck with ever-higher deductibles and co-payments. All of which is driven by the skyrocketing cost of health care — which has risen five times more than the rise in wages over the past six years.
It is, indeed, a crisis — for our families, children, elderly, and working Kansans. In other words, for all of us. And it’s a crisis that isn’t going to take care of itself.
We must address the challenge of affordable, quality health care now. It’s one of my major priorities as your Governor. And that’s why, in January, I challenged the Legislature to take some important steps toward solving the problem.
When the Legislature reconvenes in the last week in April, it will be considering a bill that contains a number of promising health care initiatives. As written, the bill would give some of the poorest Kansans financial assistance toward the purchase of their own health insurance. This could mean as many as 24,000 Kansans who don’t have insurance now could be covered by 2012.
The bill would also help reduce out-of-pocket health care expenses for Kansans by expanding the amount of pretax dollars Kansans can use to pay their health care bills. And, finally, its helps small businesses better afford health insurance by providing some financial help for them to form associations. Small businesses will be in a stronger position to negotiate affordable health care with the big insurance companies if given the opportunity to band together.
This package is a good start toward a healthier Kansas.
I urge you to e-mail your legislator and ask him or her to support this bill, called “House Substitute for Senate Bill 11.”
(You can find your legislator’s e-mail address by going to the following web address
http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/index.do
then go to ‘I want to find’ on the left side of the page and search for your representative or senator.)
However, I am sorely disappointed some in the Legislature continue to ignore my proposal for secure health care for our youngest Kansans. I have called for insuring all Kansas children from birth through age five. Zero to five are the most important development years for any child, and proper health care at that age can start our kids on the road toward healthier, more vital, and more productive lives. It can also reduce their health care problems — and, consequently, their health care costs — later in life.
Babies, infants, and toddlers represent one of our most vulnerable populations, and they deserve proper health care. Period.
As I said, this is a good start. There are many other things we are doing and can do today to help solve our health care crisis, and I hope to talk to you about them in future e-mails. One thing you can count on is that fighting the rise in health care costs and reducing the number of uninsured on your behalf will remain one of my highest priorities.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Sebelius
Governor
P.S. A piece of
good news
is that Kansas was ranked as one of the states with the highest overall health improvement last year. We must build on this kind of success.