Response from Senator to a Single Payer Health Care System

I received this email from Senator Hutchinson in response to a one sentence email I sent to her last week. "We need a single payer health care system." So we know were she stands on health care but please do not let this you dissuade you from calling her or sending her an email. If she has received thousands of messages on this issue let's make sure she get tens of thousands of messages from those who want a single payer health care system & let her know that Texans say that a nationalized health care system is the answer.

The Senators letter follows:


Thank you for contacting me regarding health care reform. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

According to the United States Census Bureau, 45.7 million people, or 15.3 percent of the total population, were uninsured in 2007. The number of uninsured Texans is even higher. Recent statistics show that one in four Texans is without health insurance.

Rising insurance premiums have become an obstacle to accessing medical care. Compounding the problem is the fact that fewer employers are offering any health insurance at all. In Texas, only 52 percent of employers offer health insurance. As a result, nearly half of our state’s citizens must purchase their own insurance in the private market. More and more Texans are choosing to remain uninsured because the cost of private insurance is just too high.

We can and must do more to address this trend. Nationalized health care is not the answer. We must make it more affordable for those who are not covered through their employers to purchase their own health insurance. Tax benefits are given to employers for providing health benefits, so I believe that they should also be available to those who purchase health insurance from the individual market.

You are among thousands of concerned Texans who have written to express their views on this topic. You may be assured that as issues regarding health care reform and health insurance come before the Senate, I will keep your views in mind. I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue of concern to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchinson
United States Senator

284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
http://hutchison.senate.gov

Email messages may be sent through the contact form found on her website at http://hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfm .