Sutherland Newsletter 8/27/2009

SENATOR HATCH ADDRESSES HEALTH CARE REFORM AT SUTHERLAND INSTITUTE

 On Wednesday, August 26, 2009, the fourth session of the Utah Prosperity Forum (UPF) addressed the question: “If Government Health Care Isn’t Right for Utah, What is?”  Speaking to a capacity audience of 130 policy leaders and interested citizens, United States Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), State Representative Brad Daw (R-Utah), and Sutherland Institute President Paul Mero addressed health care reform.  Lunch was provided by Patients First.  The event was webcast live on the Internet where 300 online participants watched and listened as the panel presented prepared remarks and responded to audience questions.
 
Because Sen. Hatch was delayed by national media interviews associated with the recent death of his friend and colleague, Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Rep. Daw spoke first, emphasizing the fact that all people need access to health insurance and that the patient must be restored to the equation.  He spoke about health savings accounts (HSAs) indicating that many of the individuals who now have an HSA were not previously covered by health insurance.  By the end of 2008, 6.1 million people - from all age groups - had set up an HSA account.  Rep. Daw also talked about how Utah lawmakers created the Utah Health Exchange plan which allows employees to select a plan and the employer can decide how much of the cost of that plan the employer will pay for.  Rep Daw said, “HSAs have a track record of saving the state money ... we think the Health Exchange will have that same effect.”  To view the PowerPoint presentation that Rep. Daw discussed at this UPF session, click here.
 
Senator Hatch then reviewed the national debate over health-care reform, underscoring his dislike for the Obama administration's proposed plan which “would run [health care] into the ground.”  Of longstanding, he has encouraged a bipartisan bill, one that would allow the 50 states to solve their own unique health-care problems and then be an example to other states so that they can improve health care on a local level.  Sen. Hatch went on to talk about the passing of his good friend, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, who passed away the night before the session.  He said that Kennedy did a lot of work with health care in the U.S. Senate and that only time will tell if his desired impacts on health-care reform will come to fruition.
 
Mr. Mero wrapped up the session addressing the topic of authentic charity care for Utah, emphasizing the work that Sutherland Institute has been doing in this area for the past five years.  He posed the question, “What do we do for the people who don’t have money to pay for health-care?”  Mero said that it’s all about Utahns coming together for one another and that the benefits associated with authentic charity care are greater freedoms, a greater appreciation for our own health, and a lower-cost, higher-efficiency way of helping our neighbors in need.   
 
Watch these pages for details about future UPF sessions.

The Utah Prosperity Forum is a collaborative project of the Salt Lake Chamber and Sutherland Institute, developed to facilitate constructive and civil dialogue about complex and sometimes controversial issues pertaining to Utah's economy.

SUTHERLAND INSTITUTE WEIGHS IN ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO SEX ED IN UTAH SCHOOLS

Over the past week, representatives from Sutherland Institute have talked to local media and attended a town hall meeting regarding a proposed sex-education bill for Utah schools.  Rep. Lynn Hemingway (D-Salt Lake City) has proposed a bill that would require school districts to offer two tracks of sex education: one that would teach abstinence only, and another wherein teachers would continue to promote abstinence but also include information on sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) and contraceptives.  Parental permission would be required for students who decide to take the second track.

Sutherland Institute believes this bill is unnecessary and that sex education needs to be taught by parents in the home.  “Schools really have no business teaching children about sex education.  This needs to come from the family.  Mother and father need to be teaching their children about these important issues of morality,” said Sutherland Institute Communication Director Jeff Reynolds in an interview with KUTV 2 News on Tuesday, August 25, 2009.

On Wednesday, August 26, 2009, a town hall meeting was held at the Murray City Library where approximately 40 attendees heard from the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU), an organization that supports a change in public-school sex education.  The PPAU representatives stated that 12 Utah teens get pregnant each day, as well as other statistics related to sexually transmitted diseases.  Recognizing that additional research is required to verify the statistics presented by the group, Reynolds said that while these statistics may be true, he believes a young teen in a compromising situation may not think of such statistics as readily as they will remember what their parents have discussed with them about sex.

Regarding Rep. Hemingway’s proposed bill, in an interview with Fox 13 TV News, Reynolds said, “It is written as a compromise, but there is no compromise when it comes to parents teaching these important values in the home.”