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Smucker Supports Sensible, Affordable Health Care Measures The severe economic problems afflicting our state and nation have made Pennsylvania's policy challenges even more difficult to resolve. Widespread concerns about individuals and families who lack or who have lost health care coverage have intensified with announcements of layoffs and job losses. Not surprisingly, much of the discussion in recent years has centered on the search for an expansive and expensive state-financed program. Yet, there are a lot of good and affordable ways to improve access to health care and extend health care coverage. Many of these ideas have been combined in a plan called HealthNET PA. Pieces of the plan range from steps for reducing medical errors to ones aimed at attracting and retaining qualified and capable medical practitioners. These measures were assembled months before I took office, but they look to be workable and sensible solutions, and so I support them. A key question about any health care proposal is how it will be paid for. Certainly, advances in health care do not come for free. These approaches appear to be quite cost-effective and can be paid for by using $100 million from an existing pool of money, the Health Care Provider Retention Account. No tax increase is needed. And this plan does not divert dollars from other important purposes.
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