Connect with Mark:

Health Care

America's health care system is broken and must be fixed. People are worried about getting and keeping quality affordable coverage.

The impact on families in Wisconsin is very real. Paying higher deductibles, paying a higher percentage of the cost from their paychecks, and severely limiting the choices of doctors are real problems that must be addressed.

Waste, fraud, abuse of the system, and doctors being forced to practice defensive medicine all drive up the cost of health care. The high cost is a primary reason more people are not already covered by health care insurance.

Fortunately there are solutions to this problem. There are a series of things that can and should be done.

The solutions will be private sector ideas applied on a larger scale to improve the health care system for everyone in Wisconsin. The solutions will simultaneously save the taxpayers of our state a significant amount of money. Fixing our healthcare system is not just an issue in Wisconsin, and the actions of the federal government will impact how our state can effectively deal with the problem. As the campaign progresses, there will be more information on this important issue.

ObamaCare

Reserving the right of individuals to make their own decisions regarding healthcare is a serious concern. Wisconsinites have the right to choose private healthcare insurance and should have the right to say 'no' to government-imposed coverage.

Many other states are considering constitutional amendments that aim to preserve private healthcare choice. In Wisconsin, a Senate Joint Resolution currently in draft form, (LRB-3861/1), and likely to be introduced by state Sen. Joe Leibham of Sheboygan would preserve choice and private healthcare options in Wisconsin. If fully support this action. (A copy of the draft legislation can be found at this link: http://media.markforgov.com/09-38611.pdf)

In addition, more than a dozen state attorneys general are considering a constitutional challenge to what has become known as the "Nebraska Exemption." The basis of the challenge relates to the provision made for Senator Ben Nelson that would exempt Nebraska from having to cover the additional Medicaid costs required by the Senate bill. The critics believe that would violate commerce and tax uniformity guarantees by treating one state differently from others. As governor, I would work with the Attorney General on this issue.

The bottom line is that Wisconsin must be protected from any unfair and potentially unconstitutional Congressional action. By forcing citizens to buy health insurance, the federal bill will be problematic no matter what form it takes. Even setting aside the huge cost to taxpayers, this is shaping up to be an excessive and troubling overreach by the federal government, and challenges are likely once the final legislation is unveiled.

To see how Wisconsin's state constitutional amendment compares to others, you can read a copy from several states below: