Long Term Care insurance and Health Care Reform. This is our big chance, folks, let’s not blow it!

It took 11/2 years for Pres. Johnson to come up with Medicare, which covers 80% of medical expenses for seniors and the disabled. Obama wants a plan that covers every American on his desk within the next 6 months! It would take much less time if they weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel.

Obama promised health care reform that reduces cost of care, while ensuring all Americans have their choice of quality, affordable health care. He originally wanted a single-payer program, but special interest groups have joined with Republicans and some Democrats to block the way. Now Obama is settling for compromise, and the mantra is “everyone will get access to affordable, quality health care” – or rather, everyone who is employed will have the freedom to choose their health plan – between private insurance and public insurance.

There is also talk of a “public” long term care insurance program. Sounds good, eh?

Let’s take a brief peek at what those brilliant minds on Capitol Hill have come up with so far.

* The Senate has two committees working on a plan, and the House of Representatives has 3 committees working on an joint reform bill.

So far, the Senate’s “Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has voted “yes” on one reform package. Here are the salient points:

Individual Mandate: All Americans would be required to buy health insurance.

Employer Mandate: Most employers will be required to provide employees with coverage (private or public).

A public health insurance plan will be created, and it will be be open to those who don’t have access to an employer-provided plan. There would be Basic and Premium levels, depending upon what you can afford to pay. Premium public insurance would pay for more than the Basic public insurance.

Those who are not employed or cannot afford to pay for insurance will be subsidized or be covered by an “expanded” Medicaid. This would be the basic care plan, of course.

* The second Senate health care bill created by the Finance Committee also has individual and employer mandates, but it will create medical co-ops.

* The House’s bill has mandated insurance, and like the HELP plan, it would have a public option for folks who don’t have employer-based insurance.
The issues:

1) The public health care insurance does not cover preventative care. This is a huge mistake, as preventative care is proven to delay or even eliminate the onset of many medical conditions- particularly the chronic, degenerative conditions such as adult onset diabetes and heart disease.

If we had a single-payer, Universal health care program, prevention would be a required component for keeping medical costs down, whilst keeping Americans healthier. Preventative care should be included in our health care, so that we can enjoy healthier, longer lives…but it is not.

2) No alternative health care available. These days, increasing numbers of Americans choose natural, holistic therapies over allopathic (AMA-type medicine) and pharmaceutical drugs. Are we to be forced to pay for insurance that doesn’t cover natural treatment modalities?

3) Why not a single-payer, Universal health care plan that would cover everyone equally? France has the #1 rated health care system in the world. The U.S. comes in at #37. Why are the lawmakers running in circles trying to please special interest groups, when they truly serve the entire population by simply expanding Medicare? A single-payer system would offer the same care for every legal U.S. resident. Plus, it would have to include preventative care in order to keep costs down, and insurance companies could still “get theirs” by offering supplemental insurance – like Medigap/Medicare supplement insurance. A Universal health care system is what we need, but that’s not what we’re getting.

Long Term Care:

As far as creating a public Long Term Care option, the current proposal has been found woefully wanting. I, personally, do not believe our government/tax-payers can afford to pay for a decent “public” long term care insurance plan. The only way to provide quality long term care to all Americans is to raise taxes and lump it in with a single-payer health insurance plan. Even that may incur problems due to the sheer size of the aging populace.

For now, long term care is an area where private insurance plays an immensely important role. It should be a cornerstone of responsible financial planning for those who can afford it. At the same time, Medicaid must be fully funded for those who do not have the means to buy insurance so that we can care for our poor, disabled and elderly in a dignified manner.

IMHO, the public long term care insurance being considered is no match for private LTC insurance. Only people who are too sick to qualify for private long term care insurance will find this option beneficial.

And therein lies the problem..

Why?

(More on the public long term care insurance plan and the answer to this question in a later post.)