Political Football

HERE is a Link to the full text of an August Press Presidential Conference on Health Care.
[my comments]

Each and every day in this country, Americans are grappling with health care premiums that are growing three times the rate of wages and insurance company policies that limit coverage and raise out-of-pocket costs. Thousands are losing their insurance coverage each day.

[turning things over to the government isn't going to make things cheaper - and if you think it will, you may want to stop reading this post right now]

Without real reform, the burdens on America’s families and businesses will continue to multiply. We’ve had a vigorous debate about health insurance reform, and rightly so. This is an issue of vital concern to every American, and I’m glad that so many are engaged.

[real reform can come in many ways that will relieve burden on America's families - it doesn't have to come at the deconstruction of 1/6 of our economy. THAT is what is scaring people.]

But it also should be an honest debate, not one dominated by willful misrepresentations and outright distortions, spread by the very folks who would benefit the most by keeping things exactly as they are.

[The President of course is disavowing that misrepresentation (willful or not) is coming from him and his administration - moving on...]

So today, I want to spend a few minutes debunking some of the more outrageous myths circulating on the internet, on cable TV, and repeated at some town halls across this country.

Let’s start with the false claim that illegal immigrants will get health insurance under reform. That’s not true. Illegal immigrants would not be covered. That idea has never even been on the table. Some are also saying that coverage for abortions would be mandated under reform. Also false. When it comes to the current ban on using tax dollars for abortions, nothing will change under reform. And as every credible person who has looked into it has said, there are no so-called “death panels” – an offensive notion to me and to the American people. These are phony claims meant to divide us.

[Illegal immigrants already get health care today. No one can legally be turned away from an ER room at a hospital. I will address this further as well as abortions in another post. Dr. Miller-Meeks covered the Death panel issue in her last blog post today.]

And we’ve all heard the charge that reform will somehow bring about a government takeover of health care. I know that sounds scary to many folks. It sounds scary to me, too. But here’s the thing: it’s not true. I no sooner want government to get between you and your doctor than I want insurance companies to make arbitrary decisions about what medical care is best for you, as they do today. As I’ve said from the beginning, under the reform we seek, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep your plan. Period.

[But here's the thing: once a government sponsored health care plan is on the table, let's say 5 million uninsured (that can still get care in ERs) sign up for the Government plan. It is the Government's studied assumption that 3 million more small business owners will drop their coverage - pushing their employees into the government plan.

Not all Doctors will be IN the government plan, so guess what? you MAY lose your doctor. Your private health insurance plan today for the most part is offered by the generosity and business smarts of your employer. (who may likely be hammered by this Administration as one of the Evil Rich.

You don't know what your employer will do - and we all know how well the Government planned and estimated cost and interest of the Cash for Clunkers program right?]

Now, the source of a lot of these fears about government-run health care is confusion over what’s called the public option. This is one idea among many to provide more competition and choice, especially in the many places around the country where just one insurer thoroughly dominates the marketplace. This alternative would have to operate as any other insurer, on the basis of the premiums it collects. And let me repeat – it would be just an option; those who prefer their private insurer would be under no obligation to shift to a public plan.

[OK, so options are a good thing? Cool. I have heard there are about 1300 different insurance companies in the US, but only a few in Iowa. Why not allow all 1300 to compete in all 50 states? If 400 "go away", we sill have a lot from which to choose.

The GOVERNMENT has set these conditions and boundaries on state insurance commissions. Change THAT process. INCREASE competition! But if your employer drops carrying insurance from what I read - you will be shifted to the Government plan.]

The insurance companies and their allies don’t like this idea, or any that would promote greater competition. I get that. And I expect there will be a lot of discussion about it when Congress returns.

[My suggestion would create MUCH MORE competition - so MUCH that some providers will fade away. But if the government competes in this market, they have a huge advantage. An insurance company by law must carry X% of their potential liabilities in cash reserves. I have seen the government set up no such provision for themselves. That is an unfair competitive advantage.]

But this one aspect of the health care debate shouldn’t overshadow the other important steps we can and must take to reduce the increasing burdens families and businesses face.

So let me stress them again: If you don’t have insurance, you will finally have access to quality coverage you can afford. If you do have coverage, you will benefit from more security and more stability when it comes to your insurance. If you move, lose your job, or change jobs, you will not have to worry about losing health coverage. And we will set up tough consumer protections that will hold insurance companies accountable and stop them from exploiting you with unfair practices.

[PS the Government has the ability to make insurance portable between jobs and between states today. Let's do it!]

We’ll prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person’s medical history. They will not be able to drop your coverage if you get sick. They will not be able to water down your coverage when you need it most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime. We’ll place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because no one in America should go broke because they get sick.

[what's in bold and blue above is the first common sense true statement in this speech, IMO]

And we will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer on the front end. That makes sense, it saves lives, and it will also save money over the long-run. Taken together, the reforms we’re seeking will help bring down skyrocketing costs, which will mean real savings for families, businesses, and government.

[No, No, no. You cannot assume that. Anyone good at math can figure this out. When we prevent more diseases, people live longer. Where's the savings! I mean I'm all for pro-active health care, but there have been recent studies done that say it won't save money in the long run. Think about how much more social security benefits are going out to people now that fewer people smoke!]

We know what a failure to act would bring: More of the same. More of the same exploding costs. More of the same diminished coverage. If we fail to act, the crisis will grow. More families will go without coverage. More businesses will be forced to drop or water down their plans.

[This is one of my biggest gripes. No one is saying there aren't needs to address. fail to act, fail to act - must pass the plan... what's the rush! Let's put together a good plan!]

So we can push off the day of reckoning and fail to deal with the flaws in the system, just as Washington has done, year after year, decade after decade. Or we can take steps that will provide every American family and business a measure of security and stability they lack today.

[Pass this plan OR our country will implode.

Frankly I think it's the converse: Pass this plan AND our country will implode!]

It has never been easy, moving this nation forward. There are always those who oppose it, and those who use fear to block change. But what has always distinguished America is that when all the arguments have been heard, and all the concerns have been voiced, and the time comes to do what must be done, we rise above our differences, grasp each others’ hands, and march forward as one nation and one people, some of us Democrats, some of us Republicans, all of us Americans.

[This President: "fear fear fear - pass the bill. don't read, don't think - do it fast!"]

This is our chance to march forward. I cannot promise you that the reforms we seek will be perfect or make a difference overnight. But I can promise you this: if we pass health insurance reform, we will look back many years from now and say, this was the moment we summoned what’s best in each of us to make life better for all of us. This was the moment when we built a health care system worthy of the nation and the people we love. This was the moment we earned our place alongside the greatest generations. And that is what our generation of Americans is called to do right now.

[What's best in each of us is not being heard by this President. He speaks of a lack of bipartisanship, but that bipartisanship has been defined by "do it my way". I don't WANT to DO IT RIGHT NOW. I want to DO IT RIGHT. Now if he wants to throw a couple of trillion around (what comes after that it all seems like funny money by now) as a safety net for those he feels are in jeopardy - do it short term. DO IT RIGHT for the long term.]

I will try to document some of the statements I’ve made in my next posts. -pf