We need affordable health care

I applaud President Bush when he expresses his concern for helping working people access affordable health care. My colleagues who work in ambulatory surgical centers join him in this goal. However, state and federal elected officials need to understand that barriers have been erected to block this goal.

To use a football metaphor, you win games not by the long pass but by blocking and tackling. In health care, the blocking and tackling is the ability to select your provider and access quality care that is affordable. Ambulatory surgery centers offer care comparable or superior to hospital outpatient departments and are far less costly.

We are seeing insurance companies refusing to contract with the ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals initiating predatory practices to block patients from getting care at ASCs. Members of Congress and our state Legislature need to examine this trend carefully. I speak to patients every day who see their health premiums soar, and they wonder who is looking out for them. One large "for profit" insurer in Utah was happy to report record profits. USA Today reports that "for profit" hospitals have seen six straight years of increasing profit margins. Suburban hospitals are in the largest building boom in 15 years — while many existing hospitals operate well below capacity.

The American family needs help with access to affordable health care, and they need it now.

Martin Brown, M.D.

medical director

Mount Ogden Surgical Center

South Ogden