(Patty) Judge says she favors business health insurance incentives

[IA_Seth]

http://www.gazetteonline.com/2005/09/30/Home/pattyjudgehealthinsuranceincentives.htm

Published: 09/30/2005 12:54 PM
By: Rod Boshart - The Gazette

JOHNSTON, IA - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Patty Judge said Friday she supports establishing a state incentive to help small businesses cover the cost of providing health insurance for their employees.

Judge, an Albia Democrat currently in her second term as Iowa agriculture secretary, said she would favor using a portion of Iowa's economic development funds to provide an insurance subsidy that would be capped at a certain amount to target it to small businesses and entrepreneurial startups.

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[lcordero2]

1. she needs to take a better look at her priorities then

Businesses are laying off people, not hiring them.

[IA_Seth]

2. What about those that are employed?

I agree that its a sad state of affairs that businesses are laying people off at the rate that they are, but does that take away from the fact that there are thousands without adequate healthcare in Iowa?

I don't know the specifics of her plan, but as she is the only candidate to this point that I have heard mention a plan, I have to say good for her.

The fact that she is steering money away from some of our funds that we use to bribe big businesses into sticking around, instead of increasing taxes or cutting from education or other human services, makes the idea all that more appealing to me.

[lcordero2]

3. employed or not

none of this money should ever be used to reward an entity (corporations) that is a burden on the community in the first place.

[IA_Seth]

4. What?!

From what I understand, Ms Judge is suggesting we take money out of our economic development funds (the ones we use to keep major corporations in iowa) and using some of that money to help provide incentives to small businesses to provide healthcare benefits to their employees...

How is this promoting a burden on the communities?

[lcordero2]

5. I don't like how it smells

Throughout the years, most of these incentive programs had not had any form of oversight or any kind of followup to see if the People are getting cheated out of their money.
Big business and small business should not EVER benefit from this. She should be setting up a way so that even unemployed people can protect themselves. Getting medical care should NOT EVER depend on whether somebody is employed or not.

[IA_Seth]

6. I agree in principle

But in practice, isn't this better than nothing?

Do you expect a candidate to promise something they will be unable to deliver?

We have a split congress in Iowa right now, do you think that a universal healthcare system is something that a Governor can promise the Iowan people right now?

Again, isn't taking from a fund designed for a type of welfare, to provide healthcare benefits to some of those that have none, better than nothing?

If there is a more logical, and viable, solution I am all ears and eager to hear it.