Healthcare in Need of Change
Report Filed- Oct.2, 2007
WASHINGTON – As President Bush vetoed a bipartisan health insurance bill, blocks away, experts and lobbyists alike agreed that the state of health care in the nation must change. While lobbyists and experts agreed that reform was necessary, all had conflicting strategies for on how to affect change.
“A record number of Americans don’t have health insurance,” and “it is so apparent we have to change health care,” declared Robin Cook, as he opened a forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Cook, a board member at the Center was moderating the forum, and went on to state that health care reform has been attempted four times in the past but health care is presently in the worst state it has ever been.
The first speaker introduced was James Morone, of Brown University, who has testified before congress many times before on health care issues. Morone was promoting a “single payer” theory which is universal health care paid through taxes and regulated by government.
Morone feels the system needs a complete overhaul and said,” We constantly run into these little cookie jars everywhere where people are trying to raise enough money to get some kid treatment that they can’t afford, it’s a sad thing, all these people without health insurance, but what’s worse is the patchy health insurance that people with insurance have.”
He then gave a short anecdote about how a health insurance company did not insure a child’s right leg because he had gotten an x-ray on it years back, to illustrate the point that people who have health risks cannot afford the right care, and insurance companies are looking mostly for customers with the least health risks. He said it was an “emblem of the craziness” that the private insurance companies have got the people into.
Costs and lack of insurance are seen as the biggest problems by Morone but he also quoted statistics about life expectancy in the US claiming that the outcomes of the nation’s health insurance are leaving the United States behind other industrialized nations in results of health care. Morone received generous laughter and applause for his enthusiastic and at times theatrical performance, which prompted Cook to say “that’s a hard act to follow,” when he introduced the next speaker.
Paul Seltman said that the single payer system relieves citizens of individual social responsibility and that that is one of its major downfalls. Seltman, who is counsel at Drinker Biddle & Reath, and was previously a legislative advisor and liaison with Congress on Medicare issues, says that the “employer mandate” theory is the middle ground between the single payer theory and that of the present free market system. The aim of this theory is to cover larger numbers of the uninsured but also reduce the cost that government has to cover.
Seltman said, “As the presidential campaign heats up and health care ideological warfare is in full swing, everything will seem more black and white. With the two extremes still firmly dug into position where they’ve been for quite some time now. One extreme argues everyone ought to be on their own to buy health insurance…it is unrealistic and has many drawbacks…not the least of which is that it lacks social responsibility…the other extreme argues that there should be a single national health insurer…while this has some advantages it is out of step with the American people…it abandons the free market almost entirely and demands little individual responsibility.” Seltman proposes that his theory brings together both the free market character of the American economy and the social responsibility that universal health insurance demands. He claims this theory to be the most politically viable and that mandates make markets better.
“I don’t see the employer mandate as being sort of a middle ground…the reason, the key being…because the employer has to spend a part of your wages on health insurance…and that gives the government control over the workers earnings in another way…what’s the difference between that and a tax saying the government is going to take the money and spend it on health insurance for a citizen?” Michael Cannon, the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies, disputed claims by Seltman that employer mandate was a middle ground.
Cannon talked about the need for insurance to reduce in price and said that it was possible because other products and innovations over the years such as TV and cell phones etc. have reduced over time, thus, so should health insurance. Cannon examined the statistics that gives America’s healthcare system poor ratings and gave examples as to why certain statistics are not telling the whole story. Cannon said the life expectancy statistic could be disputed because, “it take things into account that have nothing to do with the health care system…like automobile accidents and homicides…we have high rates of these things…when you control just those two items…we have higher life expectancy rates than any other nation in that report.” Although he defended the current system he agrees that there is much room for improvement.
Cook stated in his introductory statement that people have been opposed to reforming health care seeing it as a left wing conspiracy or a right wing conspiracy depending on which strategy is being proposed and he went on to say, “I don’t know whether we will change welfare…it’s been a problem for a while now.” As a health insurance bill is vetoed by the president, and health care becomes an important issue in the campaign trail, experts and presidential hopefuls both agree that healthcare is a vital issue, and the health care system is one that is ready for a long overdue change.
