Whole vs Term

Last Saturday, Elm Grove Village Hall was jam packed with 200 people to deliberate on the recent proposal regarding the health care reform bill. In the end, the majority of the constituents of Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner decided against the petition.

Few people support the health care reform legislation. In fact, only two individuals are speaking in favor of it during the hour-and-a-half meeting. One man carried a sign that read, “Health Insurance Reform Now,” but he did not voice out his opinion.

In an interview, Sensenbrenner described the health care reform bill “a government takeover of health insurance.” He said the public option included in it can possibly lead employers to stop offering health insurance to workers.

“I’m very, very fearful that it will encourage employers to drop their employee health insurance programs and pay an 8% tax that is levied on those employers that do not provide health insurance, because most employer-provided health insurance costs a lot more than 8% of payroll,” Sensenbrenner said. “And by dumping their employees into the government option, they can improve the bottom line.”