State Sen. John Boccieri (D-Alliance) held a conference call with reporters on Tuesday to discuss his plans for "fixing America's broken health care system."

Boccieri was joined on the call by local health care providers and community members who shared their personal experiences with the current health care system.

Boccieri said that 50 million people in the United States are currently either uninsured or under-insured.

"We know what uninsured is," Boccieri said. "The under-insured are the folks who worked in a factory, lost their job and went to work in another facility, had a spate with diabetes or a run with a heart attack, and when they go to work for the next company that becomes a pre-existing condition and they can't get in to see their doctor or their specialist, or even receive the right medical equipment."

Boccieri pointed out that America spends more than any other industrialized country in the world on health care.

"We spend more on health care than we do on food now, despite our life expectancy rates here in the United States being on par with Cuba," Boccieri said. "It's a big dilemma that we find ourselves in. Clearly the system is broken, and we're going to talk about some of the cost effective ways to help fix it."

Joining Boccieri on the call was Mary, an insulin-dependent diabetic for 32 years. Mary said she has spent that past 4 years either uninsured or under-insured. She said she currently has a $2,000 deductible on her health savings account. Mary said her account has been frozen by the Patriot Act "due to President Bush's actions."

Mary said her account was frozen by the Patriot Act because she uses a Post Office box. Mary said that health savings accounts should be pro-rated, and payment should be switched from January to July.

Boccieri was also joined by a woman whose husband is physician. The woman said that her husband would prescribe a certain medication to patients, only to be faxed later by insurance companies dictating that he prescribe a different, cheaper medication for treatment. She said that the less-expensive medication doesn't usually replicate the effectiveness of the originally prescribed treatment.

The Boccieri call also discussed the problems of the health care industry with regard to care and treatment for mental health problems. The main problem for behavioral and mental health programs is that often these are the first programs to see budget cuts.

"By not covering every American we're actually costing the folks who do pay into the system more," Boccieri said. "We need to insure that insurance companies know that when they raise their costs it hurts care. We also need to focus on preventative health, and addressing the chronic health care needs of our people."

Boccieri said the plan he'd like to see rolled out would support the employer-based system, instead of a mandate on individuals.

Boccieri also said that tax-free benefits must be preserved so that people aren't taxed on their health care savings accounts as if it were income.

"We need to make sure that those who don't receive coverage through their employer have a range of options to get affordable coverage by banning stipulations on pre-existing conditions," Boccieri said.

Boccieri also called for tax-breaks on health savings accounts, easing the transition of switching coverage between jobs and extending benefits to those who don't get coverage through their employer.

Boccieri is running against state Sen. Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson Township) to relplace retiring U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Navarre) in Ohio's 16th Congressional District.