South Carolina Statehouse Blog

Columbia, S.C. - December 10, 2009 - In light of the drastic
healthcare overhaul legislation now being considered by Congress, Gov.
Mark Sanford today urged the state’s congressional delegation to
oppose this dramatic and costly mandate, and instead propose
alternative free market reforms that are both medically sound and
financially responsible.

“While few disagree that our nation’s healthcare system needs to be
fundamentally reformed,” Gov. Sanford said, “how we actually go about
this reform is vitally important. Our decisions today will have a
lasting impact not only on future generations, but also on the
delicate balance between government intervention on the one side, and
individual liberty and opportunity on the other. With that in mind, we
have several serious concerns about the radical healthcare overhaul
currently being debated in Washington D.C.

“First, this so-called reform will shift up to a fifth of the U.S.
economy under government control, and I’d join many Americans in
fearing the consequences of the crowding-out effect on private sector
health care, innovation and service * and the inevitable tax increases
that come with it, either now or later.

“Second, earlier today at our Cabinet Meeting, S.C. Department of
Health and Human Services Director Emma Forkner described in startling
detail how this federal takeover of health care would impose
monumental costs on our state, both financially and in its ability to
serve what the Bible calls ‘the least of these.’ The U.S. House
legislation alone would expand South Carolina Medicaid rolls by
543,000 people * costing taxpayers an additional $1.17 billion over
the next decade and eating up almost 40 percent of the state budget in
just five years, as well as effectively placing one-third of all state
residents on Medicaid. This billion dollar burden would exacerbate an
already brutal state budget situation as it could force legislators to
either cut further into bone in the areas of education, law
enforcement and economic development, or raise taxes. Neither option
is palatable.

“Third, I’d point out that there exist commonsense, free market
alternatives to this drastic government-centered healthcare overhaul *
and these alternatives are outlined in detail in the attached op-ed.

“All that said, I’d just reiterate the central message of our letter
to the congressional delegation, and ask South Carolinians to join me
in urging our Senators and Representatives in Washington in two
directions: one, to push back against this disastrous shift toward
more government control over health care; and two, to call for
market-based healthcare reforms that can improve quality of life
without increasing the tax burden on this and future generations, and
without lessening the freedoms that have been the hallmark of the
American experiment.”

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Here is a copy of the letter to Senator Graham: Gov. Sanford’s letter to Lindsey Graham

Here is a copy of the June 2009 Washington Times op-ed by Gov. Sanford and Dr. Scott Atlas of The Hoover Institute: Washington Post Op-Ed by Gov. Sanford and Dr. Scott Atlas