Published: February 24, 2008 12:30 am            

WHEATFIELD: Health costs irk business owners

WHEATFIELD — Wheatfield business owners and town officials are fed up with skyrocketing health care costs, and they’ve scheduled a public forum to address it.

The meeting was organized by the Wheatfield Business Association and local, state and federal lawmakers, as well as labor and health insurance representatives, are scheduled to attend. The hope is to spark dialogue on the issue and, ultimately, reign in health care costs by attracting the attention of state and federal leaders, said Wheatfield Business Association President Tom Stevenson.

“How do you justify a 78 percent increase since 2001 when the total rate of inflation went up 14 percent over that time — while raking in record profits?” Stevenson said of health insurance providers. “It’s time to take a stand.”

Stevenson and others are concerned about the far-reaching effects health insurance increases have on other goods, such as gasoline and automobiles. It also impacts local governments, which are forced to raise taxes in order to pay the bills. Higher taxes means less consumer spending, which slows the economy, according to Stevenson.

“It is time to address this issue before it causes any more damage to our already fragile economy,” he said. Health insurance providers are supposed to serve the public good, Stevenson said. Instead, “They’re gouging the heck out of us.”

Wheatfield Supervisor Tim Demler said at a December press conference on the health care issue that the town’s costs rose nearly 30 percent, or $67,000, this year for the same policy; for the WBA, the increase is about 20 percent.

“It’s a huge, hidden tax that needs to be handled,” Demler said Thursday. “We want to push for legislation to help govern the need to control the cost of health care and the quality of health care.”

Stevenson hopes that more lawmakers will lend a sympathetic ear to the issue because it’s an election year. And while he admits that there are those who will say nothing can be done about it, Stevenson says, “If you don’t try and do anything about it, then nothing will ever change.”

Demler and Stevenson both noted the furor sparked by the Grand Island bridges toll increase, but wonder why people aren’t getting behind the push to stop health insurance premium increases. “The government meddles in most aspects of our lives except for the most important one, which is our health,” Demler said.

Both are hopeful that Monday’s forum will generate some valuable discussion. “It’s a big dragon to slay, but I think it’s one that we can slay,” Demler said.

Contact reporter David J. Hill

at 693-1000, ext. 115.

        

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