Eric Blankenburg, 65, is a technology consultant and U.S. Air Force veteran who has 30 years experience in the computer industry. He has traveled to 43 states and 30 countries as part of his work. He lives in New Hill.
Our Q&A with Eric Blankeburg
The following responses were provided by Eric Blankenburg.
What would be your plan for ensuring the future security/ strength of Medicare?
We cannot ensure Medicare or any other government program unless we rebuild a strong, growing economy that is producing good paying jobs. That would solve a lot of issues. We also must prioritize spending and eliminate unnecessary and frivolous government programs to get the government budget deficit under control. For example, did the government really need to spend money seeing what would happen to anole lizards in the Turks and Caicos Islands, when they were blasted with leaf blowers? No, they didn’t, but they did.
What would you support in Congress as a plan to help control health care/ pharmaceutical costs?
America has the costliest healthcare system in the world. A combination of government bureaucracy, insurance providers, the tort system, unhealthy lifestyles, and lack of incentives for consumers to control costs are to blame. I favor evolving our healthcare system to look more like Singapore’s system. Singapore has a market-based system, like America’s, but it is designed and implemented better than ours. Singapore spends a fraction of the money per person on healthcare, but they have better health outcomes. One of the big differences is that Singapore has turned their population into healthcare shoppers who pay attention to costs and outcomes.
Where do you stand on Medicaid work requirements and time limits?
I favor replacing Medicaid and Obamacare with a single program that provides income-based subsidies for purchasing hospitalization insurance. I also favor expanding HSA’s into a lifelong MediSave program for paying incidental medical expenses. MediSave would also include income-based subsidized health savings. I also agree with the idea that working provides a variety of benefits that are good for people. Any able-bodied person who receives government subsidies should be required to work.
What can the federal government do to support rural hospitals?
The first thing we need to do is rebuild our rural economies, which have been devastated by outsourcing jobs overseas.
Where do you stand on restoring funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program?
Universal Internet service is critical to our nation’s future. However, I do not have enough information to comment on this specific program.
PFAS contamination is a country-wide issue. How do you balance public safety and business interests with this issue?
Over the last several decades, Americans have become some of the unhealthiest people on the planet. The percentage of Americans who have chronic illnesses have increased 10-fold. Chronic illnesses are by far the largest driver of healthcare costs. A combination of industrial pollutants, like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, highly processed foods, and sedentary lifestyles are to blame. Any cost-benefit analysis relating to PFAS’s and other industrial pollutants must account for the tremendous impact that they have on healthcare costs.
Is the federal government ready for the next pandemic?
No. The public health agencies need to be completely rethought and reworked to restore trust, accountability, and effectiveness. The first thing that needs to be done is to create a firewall between the agencies and the corporations they regulate.
In 2009, Congress required more transparency from hospitals on their charitable work. Do you think the federal government should enforce stricter requirements for nonprofit hospitals to justify their tax exemptions? Why or why not?
Any organization which receives government subsidies or tax breaks must be transparent to ensure that the money is being used appropriately. However, we must also strive to do this with as little bureaucracy as possible.
Where do you stand on federal abortion limits? What gestational limits, if any, would you set?
In America’s federalist system, matters of life and death are generally handled by the states. The federal government doesn’t have any role in abortion policy.
How can Congress improve access to child care? What states are leading the way with what you think could be a good federal model? What are your thoughts about the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit?
I favor implementing a broad set of tax credits for parents who are raising children. This combined with a revitalized economy, that is producing good paying jobs once again, will go a long way to helping parents afford the cost of childcare and other expenses related to raising children.