NFIB: Boyda Pledges Support for "Solutions Start Here"

The healthcare crisis in the United States doesn't just effect the millions of Americans without health insurance, it also has a direct impact on the millions of small businesses that try to do the right thing and provide their employees with health insurance. As prices skyrocket, it becomes more and more difficult for those businesses to still be able to do the right thing and stay in business.

In a pledge to work with small businesses & the next president, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda has joined with the National Federation of Independent Businesses buy signing their "Solutions Start Here" petition.

From the NFIB press release:

"I am proud to support the Solutions Start Here healthcare petition. Affordable medical insurance coverage continues to be one of America's most significant healthcare problems," said Congresswoman Nancy Boyda. "Small businesses are especially impacted by the lack of affordable coverage. Therefore, I am pleased to have representatives of small business at the table as we look for solutions to this dilemma."

Small businesses are disproportionately burdened by healthcare costs. Of the 47 million Americans without health insurance, more than 28 million are small business owners, employees and their dependents. Under current law they generally do not enjoy the same tax treatment, coverage or pooling options as large businesses and corporations; on average, they pay 18 percent more for the same healthcare benefits. On top of this, over the last eight years, insurance premiums have increased an alarming 129 percent.

"Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and healthcare is their No. 1 issue, yet finding and providing affordable health insurance has become an overwhelming obstacle for many small business owners," said NFIB President and CEO Todd Stottlemyer. "The support of policymakers like Representative Boyda is critical as we work to find solutions to this healthcare crisis that work for small business owners and employees."

• Quality, affordable health coverage with options for small business owners, employees and their families;
• Choice in insurers, doctors and hospitals;
• The peace of mind that if people leave their job, they won't lose their health coverage;
• A clear understanding of how much people are paying for healthcare and what level of quality they are getting; and
• Confidence that medical records are private, safe and secure.

The petition reflects the goals of the Solutions Start Here campaign, which serves as the small business platform for healthcare reform. It is the largest and most aggressive campaign in the 65-year history of NFIB. As part of the effort, NFIB is hosting a series of "Fix-it Forums" across the country to engage small business people in a dialogue about the challenges they face on the frontlines of this healthcare crisis.

Here's hoping the NFIB, along with Congresswoman Boyda, are successful.

Vets Without Care: Boyda Says System is Overloaded

A really heart-wrenching story ran in the Topeka Capitol-Journal about an Iraq War veteran who is simply not receiving the quality or level of care we should all expect our returning veterans to receive.

These stories aren't rare- quite the opposite of that, like Congresswoman Nancy Boyda's district representatives for military affairs said in the same article.

Two district representatives in U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda's Topeka office, Jefferson Lawson and Adam Stolte, said they hadn't heard about Sanders' case, but weren't surprised.

When Lawson was asked if the office received a lot of complaints from veterans about similar problems, he replied, "extremely."

He and Stolte can tell lots of horror stories, but they also try to put the complaints in perspective.

"People don't call us with good information," Stolte said.

So there is no way of knowing how many veterans receive good service, he said.

And, he said, almost every VA employee they deal with is well-intentioned. The problem is the system.

Lawson explained there are two divisions of the VA — The Veterans Health Administration that provides the health care and the Veterans' Benefit Administration that sends out the checks to qualifying veterans.

"I can tell you from experience those two agencies do not talk to each other," Lawson said.

This is a horrible situation for our very bravest Americans to be in, and Boyda has already tried to address the problem, though we would probably not be out of line to say everyone knows more needs to be done.

Boyda blamed the problem on an overburdened system. She said Congress increased funding for the VA by $6.6 billion last year and by another $4.9 billion this year. More is needed, she said.

"This is the real cost of war," she said. "It's easy to wear a yellow ribbon. Veterans need real help. And that takes money."

We'll hope we can convince Republican members to vote their own rhetoric and treat our men and women in uniform with the respect they deserve.