Congressmen Hear Local Views on Health Policy

Like the nationwide forums Hillary Rodham Clinton used to gather tales of health care woes, three prominent congressmen--all Republicans--met Friday to hear local leaders of small business and the health care industry discuss the other side of the debate over reform.

Speakers at the hearing at Cal State Northridge, most of them company heads who were invited to testify, acknowledged the need for some reform within the present health care system. But they objected to the government-mandated changes proposed by President Clinton. In particular, some said, universal health care will break the backs of small businesses, decrease the quality of medical care and do nothing to curb the excessive damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.

“Rationing is what’s going to happen and people will wait 18 months for a hip joint replacement,” said Walter Mosher, president of Precision Dynamics Corp. of Pacoima, which manufactures medical devices for hospitals.

“We will become as backward as the rest of the world in innovation . . . if we don’t stop this.”

U.S. Reps. Buck McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), Carlos Moorhead (R-Glendale) and Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) asked a few questions but mostly listened. The testimony will be passed on to other members of the Republican Leader’s Task Force on Health Care within the House of Representatives.

The hearing was the third and last public meeting the congressmen will attend before returning to Washington. It had originally been scheduled for Jan. 18 but was postponed after the Northridge earthquake.

A sentiment shared by the speakers is that the President’s proposed health care plan places too much of the financial burden on employers.

Jeffery Flocken, president of the Northridge Hospital Medical Center, told the congressmen he supports the creation of health alliances that are completely voluntary for employers.

One businessman, Michael Ellias, said providing health insurance for his 20 employees would force him to either cut salaries or absorb the cost himself.

“Not only do we have to contend with market conditions, but it seems year after year, we as business people are asked to provide more and more to our employees,” said Ellias, vice president of Ellias Construction Co. in Calabasas. “We certainly don’t need Washington to mandate how we treat our employees.”