Feingold tackles health care, capital punishment, COPS grants at River Falls Listening Session

By Sue Odegard

Budget cuts for the health care industry were on the minds of most of the 30 people gathered at Chippewa Valley Technical College in River Falls Friday. Those assembled came to voice their concerns at a Listening Session hosted by Wisconsin's U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold.

"Health care should be a right, not a privilege in this country," said Jane Bruggeman, a public health director for Pierce County. "We need to expand health care access for all Americans."

Caralynn Hodgson, home care manager for the Pierce County Public Health Department, said that recent cuts in the home health care industry have resulted in the closing of 70 agencies throughout the state. Home health care workers provide medical services to homebound patients that might otherwise require hospitalization.

Marilynne Felderman, who serves on the Board of Trustees for the River Falls Area Hospital, said cuts stipulated in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 "haven't hit the small rural hospitals like River Falls yet, but they will."

Tricia McMahon, representing The Lutheran Home: River Falls, personalized the problem by saying "the overwhelming financial loss from the health care industry has been very traumatic to the staff and clients at The Lutheran Home."

In May, Lutheran Home employees joined others across the state to lobby for wage pass through legislation, sponsored by the Wisconsin Health Care Association, the Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and other groups attempting to persuade the Legislature to include a 7% wage increase for nursing home employees across the state.

The legislation would have increased Medicaid reimbursements for nursing home employees by $17 million in state funds. When combined with federal money, the wage pass-through would have generated almost $41 million. Funding could only be used by nursing facilities to increase wages, benefits, staffing and to offset rate cuts that would cause staff reductions.

Feingold said he sympathized with those concerned about health care, calling the cuts part of an "irresponsible era of budgeting."

Feingold's efforts to preserve access to home health care moved forward last month in a broader Medicare relief bill working its way through the U.S. Senate.

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 contained significant changes to the way that Medicare pays for home health services. Cuts in home health reimbursement rates went deeper than forecasters anticipated, causing some to go out of business.

Last month, the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicare, passed a bill restoring money cut from Medicare fees paid to health care workers. Feingold said he is concerned because the current bill is not adequately paid for, but was optimistic that Congress could continue to work toward a bipartisan bill that will address cuts in Medicare without putting Social Security funds at risk.

In September, Feingold helped introduce the Fairness in Medicare Home Health Access Act of 1999 that included several provisions designed to enable elderly and disabled homebound people to remain in their homes.

Theodore Phernetton, director of Pierce County Human Services, said he would like to see funding for long term care of patients be based on local needs and administered through local agencies.

Former State Sen. Bill Berndt of River Falls said it is time to "put aside partisan issues" when dealing with Medicare issues and to "incorporate free market opportunities by private insurance carriers so that citizens can take matters into their own hands concerning the crisis in home health care."

Feingold agreed, saying health issues definitely should not be a partisan matter and that he would work for a tax break on insurance premiums for health care.

Margaret Baldwin of River Falls said the lack of universal medical care for U.S. citizens is "a national disgrace," adding "it is time to start beating the drum for some drastic changes."

Capital punishment

Feingold recently introduced the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 1999, which seeks to repeal capital punishment under federal law.

He said public opinion polls indicate a majority of Americans favor capital punishment, but added that he is against the "culture of violence and killing" in the United States.

"I've had it with the death penalty," Feingold said Friday. "Wisconsin was the first state to ban the death penalty and I'm proud of that."

Feingold said he favors life imprisonment for hardened criminals or those who have committed violent crimes, but cautioned against "putting non-violent criminals in prison with violent ones."

COPS program

Feingold has been a strong supporter of the Community Oriented Policing (COPS) program, which has provided funds for more than 1,000 new police in Wisconsin.

River Falls Police Chief Roger Leque thanked Feingold for his support, adding that the River Falls City Council recently approved funding for a COPS officer that will be sponsored in part by the city and the River Falls School District. A grant award of $125,000 over 3 years was awarded for a full-time police officer.

Feingold said he believes in the COPS program, which he sees as a "mirror image of the home health care fiasco."

Feingold, 46, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1993. From 1983-1993 he served as Wisconsin State Senator in the 27th District.

Author of an 82-point deficit reduction plan, Feingold says he is passionate about preserving Social Security and reforming the federal tax code. His campaign against wasteful spending dovetails with his work to clean up the federal campaign finance system.

Other topics discussed briefly were:

Legislative action taken against military personnel who have refused to be injected with an experimental anthrax vaccine that hasn't been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.

Steven Healy, general manager for Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services, asked Feingold to support funding for a satellite program that would provide local programming services to cooperative patrons. He said the 1996 Telecommunications Act is discriminatory, especially toward those who live in rural areas.

Yvonne Manore, elderly benefit specialist with the Pierce County Office on Aging, spoke in favor of the Green Thumb Program, a state employment program for senior citizens. Feingold praised services provided in the Older Americans Act. He said he has visited successful senior nutrition sites and supports funding that is directed through state laws.

John Carroll, a River Falls High School student, asked Feingold about his views on legalizing marijuana and hemp. Feingold said he is against legalizing marijuana because it could lead to other forms of illegal drug use. "Nothing terrifies me more than drugs," Feingold said. But he added he is open to learning more about the medical uses of hemp.

UW-River Falls Campus Planner Dale Braun noted the observance of the 10th anniversary of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. He said that historical event points to a continued need of training and education at the college level. He said more efforts are needed to help break down the barriers between nations to make foreigners "our friends, rather than our enemies." Feingold said he supports "building positive relationships on a person-to-person basis so that we can all become aware of the rest of the world."