In 1912, aiming for speed and ignoring iceberg warnings was a poor strategy for the Titanic. In 2009, aiming for universal health insurance and ignoring cost warnings is equally dangerous. The Congressional Budget Office has frigid warnings on some reform efforts: estimates of as much as $1.6 trillion in new costs over 10 years, perhaps without even covering everyone.

At $2.6 trillion per year and rising, health care spending is a threat to federal and state budgets, and big business. It's already a nightmare for small business. We all want broader and better coverage, but reformers must ask: How can we first contain costs?

Congress could take your money or leave more for you to spend. They can finance health care reform with taxes that crush small businesses, or they can adopt responsible reform that allows small businesses to survive and create new jobs. They can empower patients and providers to make life-and-death decisions themselves, or they can hand that power over to unelected bureaucrats.

So, it's never been more important for you to reach out to them and tell them the real story about how their decision on this issue could affect your life, your livelihood and your family.

Ask your representatives to talk numbers. We hear about the cost problem, but we aren't hearing nearly enough about solutions to that problem. When they tell you all the great things that will result from a particular piece of legislation, politely ask: "Will this bill lead to more spending on health care or less?" If you aren't comfortable with the answer, ask for more details.

More questions to ask: Will this bill spend a great deal of money to add just a fraction of the uninsured to the insurance rolls? Or will it reduce costs and enable all Americans to purchase insurance?
Laurie Ehlbeck
State Director
National Federation
of Independent Business
(NFIB)
New Jersey