Alex LaBeau, head of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, told lawmakers that he doesn't think much of federal health care reforms being debated in Congress, but his group isn't recommending opting out. "With most of these proposals, essentially we're punishing 85 percent of Americans for the benefit of 15 percent of Americans," he said. "That's the problem with what's going on in Washington, D.C." Simply improving reimbursement levels to private providers for Medicare and Medicaid would be "one reform that Congress should look at," LaBeau said. "We do need some reforms. I don't think Idaho can say that we're taking our marbles and going home." The state and Idaho businesses should engage in the national debate, he said. "Whether or not we get any reform this year or next year or the year after, something has to happen."

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