Representative Kind Speaks to Students About Healthcare and Higher Education

On October 26, Ron Kind of the U.S. House of Representatives, came to Viterbo to speak with students about healthcare and higher education. The talk was organized by Professor Keith Knutson for his History of Medicine class, and was advertised as “a non-partisan discussion.” The event was held in the Brophy Center room 123.

Kind spent the first twenty minutes introducing himself to the audience and discussing his own college years before going into his positions on key issues as a congressional representative. One important issue he mentioned was the massive student loan debt.

“$1.3 trillion dollars of student debt is unacceptable,” says Kind.

As the event was a non-partisan discussion, the Kind said that the current tribal mindset isn’t healthy or sustainable.

After the introduction, the Representative answered questions posed to him by the audience. The first question was on the cost of higher education, and whether lawmakers had looked to the model of other countries to solve the massive student loan problem.

Kind responded that they had enacted, even during the Obama administration, a similar policy with a debt repayment plan tied to income level. “Unfortunately, the newer administration ended that policy,” says Kind.

Another question posed to the congressional representative was if he supported single-payer healthcare. In other words, if he supported a healthcare system that is financed by taxes that covers the costs of essential healthcare for all residents of a country. The model is used in most European nations, as well as Canada.

Kind admitted that he couldn’t comfortably back it yet due to a lot of unanswered questions. Instead, he went on to say how he has been a longtime supporter of the Affordable Care Act, and was insistent on the idea of protecting those with pre-existing conditions.

Explaining more about healthcare, Kind talked briefly on the subject of mental health. He said that as a prosecutor, he has seen many people with mental health issues be placed in jails instead of places where they could get help.

He voiced strong support for La Crosse’s mental health program and stated that he believed that early detection was key to helping people.

Representative Kind was elected to another term in Congress during the November midterm election.