The Congressman is clear in his understanding of what would happen if the result is no real change. (paraphrased)
Health insurance costs will double again in 10 years.
Millions more will lose their insurance.
The federal deficit will explode.
Seniors will still have to deal with the Medicare donut hole.
Health care will become 20% of GDP.
Sounds pretty scary. But Mr. Hall is encouraged because the bills he has seen have, in his view, all the critical elements.
However, the bills I've seen so far meet the most important principles of reform: prevent people from being denied coverage; make insurance affordable again; increase the quality of medical care; and make sure that Americans have access to the insurance that they choose.
Notice there is no mention of a public option. Nothing. John Hall spends much of his time preserving and improving the best health plan there is for veterans. Is there a reason, non-veterans should have something less? Real reform will require that the profit motive of private insurers be removed as the principal element for decision making on health care. See Krugman's: Why markets can't cure healthcare blogpost yesterday.
The reform bill must include some way for us to get health insurance from the government and not from a for-profit insurance company. Without that element, there is nothing to reduce costs nor increase the availability or quality of care. The profit motive will still dominate and require insurance companies to limit access to care and to spend billions attracting the healthiest clients and attempting to deny coverage when needed.
Personally, I think that a single-payer plan is what we should get. Private insurance can be useful as an add-on for such a plan. But clearly that is not going to happen with all the millions private hospitals, insurance companies and big pharma are spending on their friends in Congress.
We must insist that there be no further delay in passing health care reform. But any bill without a public option is not real reform. Unless there is a public option, the bill must be defeated. It is better to have no bill than a bill that does nothing. |
