Office of Gov. Dave Freudenthal
Press Secretary Jonathan Green
State Capitol, Room 124
Cheyenne, WY • 82002
307-777-7434
February 8, 2010
******
For Immediate Release ******
** Audio attached **
Contact: Press
Secretary Jonathan Green
Phone: 307-777-7437
Mobile: 307-421-0197
E-mail:
jgreen3@state.wy.us
Gov.
Freudenthal’s healthcare proposal encourages personal, financial responsibility
— Related legislation: Senate File 61 sponsored by Sen. Charles Scott
(R-Natrona)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Gov. Dave Freudenthal says a health insurance reform
program he has proposed will help control costs by encouraging people to take
responsibility for their health.
During his State of the State
Address Monday, Freudenthal explained the program, Senate File 61 sponsored by
Sen. Charles Scott (R-Natrona). He said the program will help limited-income
adults with no insurance identify and mitigate serious health issues before
they blossom into the expensive catastrophes that strain insurers, providers
and the public alike. The program will also help participants better understand
their health – and sickness – costs, and help inform them to make better
decisions about staying healthy.
Freudenthal is urging the
Legislature to move ahead with progress in Wyoming instead of waiting for
national reform.
Audio
clip 100208f-SOS-Gov_Take-responsibility.mp3 (717kb; :45)
Freudenthal: “What we’re asking people to do in this, and I don’t
believe it constitutes socialism, is to contribute something of their own to
their own health insurance. That is, they have to participate – they have to
participate. We are expecting them to be employed at least 20 hours [a week] –
20 hours – in order to participate in this pilot project. We are expecting them
to take responsibility for their own health. As all of you know, this question
about cost containment is going to fundamentally come down to whether we take
better care of our own health. We are not going to, in the event of a
catastrophe, say, ‘Well, that operation costs too much,’ and not try to provide
it to our family. The only thing that is really going to affect costs is for us
to affect utilization; the only way you affect utilization is by people taking
more responsibility for their own health.”
Audio
clip 100208g-SOS-Gov_Early-detection.mp3 (247kb; :15)
Freudenthal describes part of the program: “We are looking for early
detection of diabetes, we are looking for early detection of cancer, we are
looking for early detection of heart disease – any of those elements that can
become chronic diseases, we are looking for early detection, and in order to
stay in this pilot program, they [participants] got to follow some of the
doctor’s advice.
A full transcript of the
address is forthcoming.
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