Roskam opponent to good health care
As an internal medicine physician who practiced in the 6th Congressional District for over 14 years, I want to correct the story told by well-financed political advertising on which candidate in the district supports health care.
The straight story is that Peter Roskam has voted consistently against the SCHIP program despite the fact that private health insurance coverage of children has been dropping over the last few years and SCHIP has been the major way to fill this growing need for children.
In addition, he opposed HR 6331 that provided a 1 percent increase in Medicare payment to physicians instead of a cut. This bill is important for senior citizens since without this increase many physicians will reduce the number of seniors they are able to treat due to the low payment rate.
He was one of the few votes against this bill that passed by a 355 to 59 vote. This margin of passage is a clear testament to the near universal acknowledgment of the bill's importance and Roskam's hyper-partisanship. In addition, he has worked consistently to reduce a woman's right to choose.
Finally, he has been a prime supporter of House Bill 4157 which would make in-vitro fertilization essentially impossible. This is a technique that has allowed many infertile couples in the 6th District to have children.
Jill Morgenthaler is the candidate for Congress who will work hard to assure cost-effective, high quality, appropriate health care.
Mark C. Shields, M.D.
Mount Prospect