Health
Continued from Page 1
include records of payments as well as medical
information, Ellwood said.
The card is part of Ellwood’s “managed
competition” plan, in which he said, “Insurers
are no longer just bill payers, but have to make
health care available and hold health-care orga
nizations accountable for the health <5f the
patient.”
Ellwood said that in his 17 years as a prac
titioner, he had watched the system’s incen
tives deviate from the health of the palienfft
the primary goal.
He said doctors often performed more pro
cedures than were necessary in order to protect
themselves from malpractice suits and to take
advantage of Medicare and other payments.
Physicians are encouraged to do too much to
a patient — often to the financial and physical
detriment of that patient, Ellwood said.
Richard Brown, a consultant to the President’s
Task Force on National Health Care Reform,
said he thought these issues, including mal
practice reforms, would be included in Presi
dent Bill Clinton’s recommendations for re
form legislation.
Shikles, who has studied health-care sys
tems in Canada, France, Germany and Japan,
said the United States had the most expensive
health-care system, but not the most efficient.
Shikles said spending caps also would help
solve the “incentives” problem that Ellwood
described.
“Other countries are a'ble to impose cost
control and still maintain quality,” she said.
“We need to get away from the idea that
price and quality go hand in hand.”
Brown said tnc president’s main goals were
to control costs and to make health care afford
able and available to all people.
_1_ .i_r___r_
Ull JdlUIUU), UIV^ Ul UIV ^UIIIWV/IIW
turned to health-care reform at the state level.
Kerrey opened the second day of the confer
ence by saying: “Let me note that Nebraska has
all the resources that it needs intellectually and
the heart and courage to do what is necessary to
get the job done.”
In his introductory remarks.Gov. Ben Nelson
said it was clear that attention must be directed
toward partnerships between the federal and
state governments and between the public and
private sectors.
Nelson said he was pleased to hear Hillary
Rodham Clinton, who heads the national task
force on health care, back the idea that states
have a primary role in implementing health
care reform.
Saturday’s speakers also agreed on the need
for cost containment.
“Cost containment is really one of the linch
pins in the reform effort,” said Minnesota slate
Sen. Linda Bcrglin, who discussed Minnesota’s
health-care reform.
“You can’i create an affordable program for
access for the uninsured, you can’t do insurance
reform that’s going to last or be meaningful and
you can’t prevent more people from booming
uninsured unless you address the issue of cost
containment.”
Frank Barrett, chairman of the Blue Ribbon
Coalition, which is working on proposals for
Nebraska’s health-care reform, agreed with
Berglin.
“No health reforms are going to work if we
don’t get cost containment under way,” he said.
Barrett said the Blue Ribbon Coalition had
agreed on several principles for health-care
reform in Nebraska:
• All Nebraska residents have the right to
quality health care at a cost that they and society
can afford.
• All Nebraskans have a right to basic
health-care services.
• Measurements need to be developed to
ensure that all Nebraskans rcccivcqualily health
care.
Dustin Ruge, a junior finance major, yells “Clinton/Gore, gone in four,” with about 50 other protesters at the
Center during Hillary Clinton’s visit to Lincoln Friday. The demonstration was sponsored by UNL s College
Republicans.
Protesters disagree with Clinton policies
By Susie Arth
Senior Reporter___
As Hillary Rodham Clinlon spoke to a crowd
of 2,100 people inside the Lied Center for
Performing Arts Friday, a crowd of about 50
protesters gathered outside.
The protest, which was organized by Col
lege Republicans and Students for America,
was an attempt to tell the first lady they dis
agreed with her policies.
Rob Roxas, a senior finance major, said he
was mainly protesting against Clinton’s health
care proposals.
“I feel that America works better if we
empower people instead of always looking to
government to help people.”
Other protesters said they came to the Lied
Center to show their opposition to abortion.
Jim Whitney of Lincoln, who carried a sign
that read “Stop abortion now,” said the Clinton
administration was wrong for supporting the
- it-—
This is a conservative state
and the people of Nebraska
need to make noise when a
liberal like Hillary Clinton
comes in.
— Barrett
vice president of College Republicans
-ft -
right of women to have abortions.
‘The Clintons are pro-choice and I am not,”
he said. “I'm pro-life all the way.”
Alice Brown of Lincoln said she was pro
testing for similar reasons.
T am opposed to many of the Clinton
Clinton policies,” she said. “I’m here to show
Hillary that not everyone adores her and ap
proves of her projects.”
Trent Steele, stale chairman of College Re
publicans, said the protest was not a personal
attack on Clinton.
“This is not a protest against Hillary Clinton
as a person or as the first lady,” he said. “It’s
against the policies she’s proposed for this
country.”
The protesters’ chants included “Hey, hey,
ho, ho, socialism’s got to go” and “Clinton
Gore gone in four.”
John Barrett, vice president of College Re
publicans, said it was important for conserva
tives to stick to their guns when Democrats tried
to sway opinions.
“This is a conservative state and the people
of Nebraska need to make noise when a liberal
like Hillary Clinton comes in,” he said.
“We don’t agree with her policies and we
want to let her know that.”
Steele denied allegations that Republicans
were attacking the first lady because she was
getting involved in politics.
“We praise the idea of women being in
volved in the political arena on an equal basis,’’
he said.
Clinton
Continued from Page 1
coverage, she said.
If farmers and ranchers do provide better
health care to their employees, it will send them
into Financial ruin, she said.
“Why would we want to drive out business
farm and ranch families when they are the most
productive people in our country?” she said.
Clinton said the problem would affect nearly
everyone locally and throughout the United
States unless a reform policy was implemented.
“If we do not deal with federal, state and
local costs, we will bankrupt cities, counties
and states,” she said. “They may never go to a
bankruptcy court, but they will run an enor
mous deficit that will never close.”
The increasing healtn care costs initially
affects business owners, but eventually is handed
down to the consumer.
The General Motors Corporation spent $3.2
billion to provide medical coverage to 1.9
million employees, she said. Because of the
health-care price-tag, $1,100 was added to the
price of every new car the company produced.
The amount was more than the company
spent on steel in one year, she said.
Americans pay 14 cents on every dollar
earned for health care. If the trend continues at
the same rate, she said, in seven years, $1 out of
every $5 earned would be distributed to health
care.
Clinton gave no specifics on the health-care
reform package that is believed to be announced
next month, but she did say all Americans
would have access to adequate health care.
"Americans will be secure knowing they
have access to health care, no matter who they
are,” she said.
But all the responsibility doesn't rest with
the government, she said. Individuals must be
more responsible for their own health care.
One possible health-care proposal would
improve access to medical care, she said, by
using cards that would be distributed to every
one as passports to health care in America.
In a press conferenceafter her speech, Clinton
gave no specifics of the health-care proposal,
But said it would be "portable across state
lines.” Exact details would be left up to states,
and would differ from region to region.
Committee
Continued from Page 1
Student regents from the Uni
versity of Nebraska Medical Cen
ter and the University of Nebraska
at Kearney also agreed with the
proposal.
However, the motion failed 5-3
after 20 minutes of debate.
The single student who was cho
sen to represent student opinion for
all four campuses was Stephen
Thew, a student senator at UNMC.
Thew is a 1991 graduate of UNL.
The administrators chosen to be
on the committee were:
• UNL Chancellor Graham
Spanier;
• Barbara Snyder, vice chancel
lor for student affairs at UNK;
• Clarence T. Ueda, dean of the
College of Pharmacy at UNMC;
• Dave Hinton, dean of the Col
lege of Public Affairs at UNO.
Faculty chosen for the commit
tee were:
• Sally Wise, director of the
Law Library and president of the
Academic Senate at UNL;
• Annabell Zikmund, assistant
professor of music at UNK;
• James O. Armitagc, chairman
of the department of internal medi
cine at UNMC;
• William R. Pctrowski, chair
man of the history department at
UNO.
The committee also includes six
citizens from Nebraska. Each re
gent could nominate two citizens
to be placed on the ballot. The
nominees who received a majority
vote and will be on the committee
were:
• John Haessler of Lincoln,
president and chief executive offi
cer of Woodmen Accident and Life
Company;
• Charlene Miller of Grand Is
land, vice president of Rainbo Bread
Co.;
• Gates Minnick of Lincoln, a
member of Lincoln City Council
and the University of Nebraska
Alumni Association and a board
member of the University of Ne
braska Foundation and Bryan Me
morial Hospital;
• Leland Olson of Omaha, re
tired, a former senior staff member
at three Omaha hospitals and a
former professor of OB-GYN at
UNMC;
• Bob Phares of North Plaue,
managing general agent for Allied
Life and general agent for Ameri
can Mutual and Travelers;
•RobRaun of Mindcn,a former
NU regent.
Alsoon the committee are Terry
Fairfield, president of the Univer
sity of Nebraska Foundation and
Dr. Lee Jones, NU executive vice
president and provost.
Regent Nancy O’Brien of Wa
terloo is the co-chairwoman of the
committee, along with Raun.
O’Brien said the search com
mittee would have its first meeting
during the week of May 17.
The board also adopted the new
president’s job descri|kion, includ
ing the advertisement for the posi
tion and description of job respon
sibilities.
Regents
Continued from Page 1
Fund B student fees. UNL students
will now pay $165.86 per semester in
Fund B costs. Students at the Univer
sity of Nebraska at Kearney will re
ceive a $6.75 increase raising their
total fee to $106.50 and Un iversity of
Nebraska at Omaha students will re
ceive a $ 1 increase raising their fee to
., roved an agreement
with the U.S. Golf Association allow
ing them to conduct research that
would improve buffalo grass for use
on golf courses.
The design report for the Biologi
cal Sciences Greenhouse was ap
proved. The greenhouse will be lo
cated south of the Beadle Center build
ing, which is now under construction.
It will provide plant-growing facili
ties for the School of Biological Sci
ences and research space for biochem
istry and biotechnology researchers.
The design report for the Memo
rial Stadium sound system was also
approved. The price of the project
increased from $580,000 to $620,000
because structural modifications of
the Schulte Field House will be neces
sary to install the sound system.
The board passed the resolution
relating to the use of the Union Insur
ance Building at 14th and Q streets.
The resolution will allow the imi
versity to use money from a $600,000
contract with the city of Lincoln to
renovate the Union Insurance build
ing.
The contract between the city and
the university was made because the
city needed to destroy part of the 501
Building to continue with the 10th
Street construction project.
The board also voted to clarify NU
as a university made up of four sepa
rate campuses rather than one large
university system. During an April 12
meeting, regents and several admin
istrators had disagreed on the defini
tion, which could technically increase
or decrease the power of the NU presi
dent over the tour campus chancel
lors.