Rep. Linda Sanchez advocated for healthcare reform during a Tuesday stop in downtown Long Beach.
The Lakewood Democrat, whose district includes a sliver of Long Beach, met with the Press-Telegram's editorial board and a news reporter to discuss a range of local and national issues, but insurance reform dominated the 90-minute conversation.
"If we do nothing the healtchare system will collapse," Sanchez said. "I sort of
liken it to a leaky roof."
Continuing with that analogy, she said, "Healthcare reform is something we should have thrown a tarp over years ago."
Though Sanchez does not agree with every detail in the still-developing proposal, she supports the overall concept of a single-payer system that can compete with the private sector for patients' business.
"I believe that with the public option, because of the competition, you will see reduced costs," she said.
Republicans have challenged that notion, arguing that the government will either set premiums and physician reimbursements below market rates or escalate costs through mismanagement.
The congresswoman was familiar with conservative arguments suggesting that the best way to lower costs is to allow insurance companies to compete across state lines but has not yet taken a position on that issue.
Sanchez held up the active military's single-payer system as a model of efficiency with principles that could be applied to a government option.
"It's not perfect but it works very well," she said.
On the subject of Medicare, Sanchez said that she wanted to refute rumors that healthcare reform will alter the level of care Medicare recipients receive. Changes to Medicare are not in the legislation.
"People have heard things, but they haven't taken the time to look at the substance of the two House versions of the bill," she said.
Though she knows there is a good deal of concern about the reforms, Sanchez has heard from small business owners who desperately want a new system because of escalating costs in a difficult economy.
"They want to offer it (to employees) but it's too expensive to do that," she said.
Boeing C-17
As many of her constituents in Lakewood, Long Beach and surrounding areas work for the Boeing Co., Sanchez said she is pushing to continue the threatened C-17 cargo plane.
The House has so far agreed to include three orders for the Long Beach-built airlifter in the next budget, but Boeing has said it needs 15 U.S. Air Force orders to continue the program. A Senate proposal is pending.
Sanchez disagrees with the Pentagon position that the Air Force does not need more C-17s.
Some of the planes in the fleet are aging and will be need to be replaced, she said, adding that carrier is also needed for humanitarian missions.
