Health Care Reform: Senate says, “No Public Health Care option!”

Is this health care reform? I don’t think so. The Senate Finance Committee ( SFC ) decided to pull the public health care option from their health care reform bill and replace it with non-profit insurance co-ops. The public plan was flawed enough, but the co-op idea is worse yet.

The SFC has also nixed employers’ mandates to provide insurance. On top of that, individuals will still be required to obtain insurance, but insurance companies will not be required to offer it to them. The insurance companies can’t deny or charge higher premiums due to health, but they don’t have to offer any insurance, either. What the ____??? If individuals will be required to buy health insurance, how will we get it if insurance companies won’t sell it to us?

We’ve seen what happens to Long Term Care insurance companies that offer affordable policies to the sick, high risk populace. They go under. So will health insurance companies. That’s the nature of insurance. No carrier in their right minds will offer insurance to sickies, therefore risking their ability to pay benefits to policyholders.

What is now being offered by the Senate Finance Committee is insurance reform, not health care reform.

These bills are being crafted in private, with actuarials and “industry experts” sharing their knowledge and advice with the committees. Yet, the bills have not been actuarially sound sound far, particularly the public plan versions. Perhaps that’s why the public plan is being dropped?

You can tell how bad all the plans are by the fact that PhRMA is willing to take out ads to promote them. Who is PhRMA? According to their website, PhRMA’s membership represents big drug companies. So, who are PhRMA’s members? It doesn’t say, hmmm…. Could it be that PhRMA’s members are the giganitc drug companies themselves?

PhRMA took out $500,000 worth of TV ads that will air in nine states. They are promoting health reform. That’s a bit scary, as their support for certain “health care reform” bills may sway lawmakers when it comes to reining in health care costs. Pharmaceutical companies make a 700% profit from Americans (many times more than other countries allow). Do we really want an arm of drug companies influencing our lawmakers’ minds?

Look, Americans want real health care reform – specifically, a single-payer national health plan. We aren’t getting that, because special interest groups have Republicans and centrist Democrats on a ” you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” short leash. Any bill created under these circumstances will not alleviate, or even put a dent in, our nation’s health care crises. All mainstream media is using scare tactics to sway the most gullible Americans into thinking that Universal health care is tantamount to treason, or that people will get inferior care compared to private insurance.

To that I’d like to say one thing: Think HMO’s… there are thousands of people who have had horrific experiences with their HMOs – long waits to see doctors, particularly specialists, necessary diagnostic tests and treatments being denied, increasing premiums after a health condition has been diagnosed, even cancellation of policies due to “misplaced” payments. Most people can only afford health insurance through an HMO. If they had a choice, would they rather pay increasing premiums for sub-par, possibly life threatening, health care through an HMO or would they choose to pay higher taxes for Universal care, knowing they will always have coverage?

We need Universal health care. Nothing else will work to keep our health care costs down while providing care for 100% of Americans. Private insurance for all cannot be. It’s actuarially impossible. Health insurance co-ops will offer less benefits than current private insurance – they must in order to stay viable. The only fair/egalitarian/intelligent option is a single-payer system, which is why every other industrialized country in the world has one. It’s a no brainer, but the people who make huge profits are screaming bloody murder, and of course there are some people who will listen to intensity instead of intellect.

Drug companies and private health insurance have the most to lose from a single-payer system. Drug companies stand to lose billions if caps are set on their price, while private health insurance could lose most of its current policy holders. Private health insurance would be relegated to the wealthy who can afford it. Insurance companies would have to adjust to not making so much money, but they can stay in business by selling supplemental insurance. Americans would get the health care that every other country of our status already enjoys.

Single-payer vs. private health insurance costs? Private health insurance has costs government-run health care doesn’t have, like paying for: CEOs’ and executives’ salaries and bonuses, underwriters who reject risky applicants, processors who’s jobs it is to reject claims for benefits, lobbyists to sway Capitol Hill lawmakers, a huge legal staff to battle patient lawsuits (as well as regulators), and very large advertising budgets. All of these factors create higher premiums, less people being accepted for coverage, and less benefits paid come claims time. Do we want to continue in this manner – feeding the belly of the beast – or do we want real change? (FOX news, the health insurance industry, drug companies, and health care product manufacturers shouldn’t get a vote!)

A Universal, single-payer health care program doesn’t have private insurance companies’ costs, nor does a single-payer system need to make a profit for its shareholders. This is why we need true health care reform; not some watered down insurance reform that’s backed by pharmaceutical giants. Pandering to the wealthiest of the wealthy cannot give the rest of us the health care we so desperately need.

The vast majority of Americans agree that we need Universal health care, and Obama agreed with them before his presidency. So, I say to our President and the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle: Do what is right for the American people. Just this once let your conscience, not your political ambitions and pockets, lead the way.