Congress must act quickly to pass health care reform -- the bottom line is -- we can't wait any longer. Across our country, 14,000 Americans are losing their health care coverage every day, joining the 46 million who aren't covered by health insurance. I'm as worried as anyone about how we're going to pay for this overhaul. But the cost of doing nothing is even greater. We must address the lack of access, and the crippling cost of health care that is hurting our families and our economy.
The United States now spends twice as much per capita on health care than almost any other nation, and our outcomes are worse. Spending on doctors, hospitals, drugs, and other health care costs now consumes more than one of every six dollars we earn -- that's approaching 20 percent of our country's GDP. The growing costs to employers, estimated at 5 percent in 2008, have forced many businesses to cut back on benefits. It is even worse now during tough economic times. Before the economic downturn, 62 percent of all personal bankruptcies in 2007 were the result of unaffordable medical bills. What's astounding is that three-fourths of those debtors had health insurance. According to the numbers alone, our system is broken.
But the health care issue is about much more than just numbers. I've heard from countless folks in my district who can't afford health care, or are struggling to come up with the money to pay their rising premiums. One constituent likened her health care bills to a second mortgage. Her middle class family has been paying nearly $15,000 a year for health coverage, which is not uncommon. She's had to cut back on paying for other things in order to afford to keep her family insured. Her story -- and others across my district -- underscore the need to act quickly to make sure that all families have affordable access to the care they need.
There is widespread agreement that something must be done. But as is usually the case when making public policy, the devil is in the details. Changing our health care system will be very difficult, and much compromise will be necessary. No one will get everything they want and after it is done there will be more reform to do. The American people want health care reform, but at the same time are afraid of losing what they already have (if they already have health care coverage). They want access to quality health care but are most concerned with being able to afford it. Of those who have insurance, few are interested in shifting from an insurance industry bureaucracy to a government bureaucracy.
We need to make sure that people who are happy with the coverage they have can keep it. We need to make sure that the American people will be able to keep their doctors, and have a say in their health care decisions. But we must expand the options, so that Americans who don't like their plan, or don't have health care coverage, have a choice. And we can't afford to wait for an arbitrary "trigger" to be pulled to put this reform into operation. If that is part of the bill, reform will likely never happen.
A public plan that provides true competition will be an important part of this reform. According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a widely respected non-profit health policy research foundation, nearly two thirds of Americans agree with me that we need to make sure that all Americans have access to affordable health care by providing an alternative to the private insurance options that are on the market. We must ensure that every American has health care coverage, regardless of pre-existing conditions, and that we have adequate protections in place for the doctor-patient relationship. And we must also make sure that people can keep their coverage if they change jobs, get divorced, or their employer changes their options.
By streamlining health care, reducing fraud and abuse, ending unnecessary testing, discouraging over-utilization, investing in smart reforms, and emphasizing preventive health care, we can significantly bring down the cost of health care. In addition to working for these changes, I'll also push to expand access to telemedicine, which provides easier access to health care for people in undeserved communities. We can also make significant cost savings by encouraging more collaboration and patient centered care by doctors. Rather than paying doctors for the volume of procedures they perform, we should reward them for keeping patients healthy.
Reform won't be easy, but it is urgent that we act now to make sure that all Americans can access quality, affordable health care. For the families in my district, and families across the country who can't afford to go to the doctor, or can't afford the medicine they've been prescribed, it's more urgent than ever that we reform our broken health care system as quickly as possible.
I would also recommed reading the National Center for Policy (NCPA) study on Telemedicine -> http://www.consultadoctor.com/NCPA_Convenient_Care_and_Telemedicine_Summary.pdf
This line: "We need to make sure that people who are happy with the coverage they have can keep it." means you are not serious about health care. We CANNOT HAVE successful health care reform including cost control and keep private health insurers as the base. The "low hanging fruit" in cost savings is the 30% or more wasted in paying for competing health insurance plans.
Your post doesn't really endorse a solution except to enshrine the problem as the solution to the problem.
The answer is simpler than the hodge-podge being railroaded through Congress right now. It is called single payer, tax financed, first dollar coverage. The replacement that people fear will not be there is based on cost (premiums, deductibles and co-pays). A single payer plan that eliminates these insurance industry cost-shifting schemes would allay that fear.
Single payer, first dollar coverage, everybody in the pool (remember, it's tax funded, so no opting out). I think people would be quite comfortable with health care that was always available, no matter their job or income status, and could never drive them to a choice between care and bankruptcy.
What do you say, Congressman. How about running that idea flag up the pole? Remember, citizens vote, not insurance companies. We'll still love you if you try and fail. Not so much if you don't even try.
Everybody needs health care, nobody needs health insurance.
"We need to make sure that people who are happy with the coverage they have can keep it."
This misleading line was clearly written by the insurance industry.
The American people are paying attention. We know full well what is going on here. If Washington's idea of "reform" turns out to be a bailout of the insurance industry, names will be taken and the offenders will be punished at the polls.
We WILL be taking names this time and yes, you could NOT have said it any better - "THE OFFENDERS WILL BE PUNISHED AT THE POLLS". We are talking about life and death situations here for the citizens of this country - not just whether our gas costs a little more!!!
As for the 'JUST SAY NO TO EVERYTHING" members of congress - Take note: We've grown very weary of your dangerous childishness your motives are blatantly obvious! There is no room for schoolyard bullies in positions of power in such desparate times. Take your "time out" then come back and play "nice" with the rest of us!
You may not like the idea of "profit" when it comes to health care. However, it is a lot better than going back to the days of King Henry the VIII when if you were not in the correct political class or did not have enough money to bride the powers to be you were just another serf of the King dependent on his whims.
With the government in charge of our health care, they will have the power to decide if you get that operation you need and even if they ok it, you may have to wait months to get it. Assuming there are any doctors left to provide the care. After all you don't think they deserve a "profit" for taking care of you so a lot of them just may well quit instead of working for peanuts. Just remember, you get what you pay for. Think about it.
The questions the Rep. Mike Thompson should be asking are:
What happens if President Obama gets his way and imposes a government run health care system and there are no health care providers available who will provide the care as they have been put out of business and quit?
Answer: There will not be enough health care professional available to meet all the demands of a government run system so you will end up with insurance and no doctors to treat you.
Why is the government trying to enact another enormous government run health care program when Medicare and Medicaid are going bankrupt?
Answer: Because President Obama and most of the Democrats are into power and want to control every aspect of our lives and do not care about the Nation going bankrupt.
How much will a government run program cost and how is it going to be paid for?
Answer: At least 1.5 trillion which will be paid for with Higher debt and higher taxes which will further hurt an already bad economy.
How will the decisions on health cuts be made?
Answer, Rationing of health care and political favoritism.
Government run health care is just plain wrong and will do more harm than good..
Insurance is a scam thought up by someone who saw a way to make a profit off another person's suffering.
How else do you explain one insurance CEO making over 20,000,000 a year?
II think Americans need to figure out what other countries did a long time ago: if we invest in social programs, that may raise taxes but it invariably increases disposable income.
Answer:
1) Because I should not have hand over my hard earned dollars to pay for your health insurance against my will. That is called slavery.
2) Government run programs that are funded by tax payer dollars are fraught with a lot of fraud and waste. For example, billions of dollars are wasted in Medicaid and Medicare fraud which will be compounded big time if the government takes over the rest of the health care industry.
3) Once the government gets a hold of another major private industry like health care there it will become a bottomless pit that will require more and more money to sustain itself so taxes will continue to rise . Whether we like it or not, government will have us all by the throats and be able to dictate what level of taxes they need to keep the program going and what we are required to do to keep costs down. ie, if you eat too many potato chips you may be denied care or pay a penalty. Give the government power over health care the sky will be the limit in terms of what they can charge and dictate in terms of your life style.