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PRYOR EXPECTS PLAN TO INCLUDE QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

By Wes Clement/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 11:21 PM CDT

A U.S. senator would like to see a higher quality, more affordable health care system become a reality.

Sen. Mark Pryor talks about health care reform during his visit to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge Masonic Temple in Pine Bluff Tuesday afternoon. Pine Bluff Commercial/Ralph Fitzgerald

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) spoke to reporters Tuesday at Pine Bluff while on a tour of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Masonic Temple, 2906 E. Harding Ave. Pryor met with officials of the organization, however the nature of the meeting was not disclosed.

On the issue of health care, Pryor said two bills are in the making in the senate by the Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee and the Finance Committee. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) is a member of the Finance Committee.

“Both committees are working around the clock to get their bill out of committee,” Pryor said.

“If it passes on the Senate Floor, it will go to conference,” Pryor said. “It’s going to go through a lot of changes from now until it passes. It’s going to become a blended bill with elements of both bills. Then we will have to try to get 60 votes.”

“At this point we don’t know what it’s going to look like,” he said, “because we haven’t seen it yet.”

The goal of the senators’ efforts, Pryor said, is to bring about a health care system that provides higher quality care and more accessibility.

“It’s kind of a myth that the U.S. has the best health care,” he said. “There are some things we do very well and some things we don’t do very well. There are a lot of vested interests in the industry.”

“A lot of health care professionals want to see a good change,” he said “but it will take a while to come up with a system that’s better than what we have now.”

The Senate bills have been unduly shown in a negative light recently, Pryor said.

“Ten days ago in the Wall Street Journal there was a story on the Kennedy Bill. That bill will go through so many changes by the time it goes through the process.

“My view is just to keep my powder dry and see what happens during the process. I think we can improve health care and provide it at an affordable cost.”

He referenced efficiency of Medicare as an indication the federal government is capable of competition. Furthermore, he said he expected a government-option to result in lower private insurance costs. The government, he said, would have no profit motive to boost costs.

Citizens with private health coverage would be able to opt to keep the private insurance.

He commended Lincoln on her dedication to developing the Finance Committee’s bill.

Pryor said education legislation has taken a back seat to the health care bills partly because the HELP Committee would be required to split its time between the two issues.

“It’s possible we would see an education bill pass this year,” he said “but most likely it will be next year.”

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