Published in the Keene Sentinel on October 14, 2012
Democratic congressional candidate Ann McLane Kuster sees healthcare as a triangle — access, quality and cost.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act opened access, but now the focus needs to be on lowering costs in order to maintain quality, Kuster told supporters in Peterborough Thursday as part of a four-city tour to talk with seniors about Medicare.
She suggests changing the healthcare system so that hospitals and doctors have an incentive to keep people healthy, and this idea of accountable care is already taking off in New Hampshire, including at Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene, she said.
Kuster, 56, of Hopkinton is trying to unseat Peterborough Republican Charles F. Bass, 60, in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.
Medicare and health care have become hot topics during the campaign, as Kuster has continually criticized Bass for his support of vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s federal budget proposal. That plan included changing Medicare to a system where recipients can elect to receive federal money to help pay for a private insurance plan. Supporters call it a premium support system, while opponents have labeled the plan a voucher system.
“They just want to shift the burden of health care costs to the individual,” Kuster said of her opponent.