I had two choices today, one was to shovel 14” of snow and the other was to watch the Presidents “bipartisan” meeting on health care. I paid a college student to shovel the snow…go figure. I have been at this meeting thing since 10:00 AM and it is now 5:00 pm, I should have shoveled the snow and saved $60.
The meeting on health reform was anything but that, bipartisan that is. The Democrats spent their time providing ample horror stories and the Republicans played politics with the same old song. About the most exciting thing was a debate over whether or not the Obama plan would lower premiums for individual coverage. The CBO says it will not, but the President says that is ok, they will have better coverage.
[picapp align=”left” wrap=”false” link=”term=health+care+summit&iid=8096055″ src=”1/9/b/a/Obama_Hosts_BiPartisan_56fa.jpg?adImageId=10754076&imageId=8096055″ width=”380″ height=”515″ /] Thank God that’s over with, where am I going to get another story like that one?
Reid has the best story about a restaurant owner whose child was born with a cleft palette and the insurance company refused coverage because it was a pre-existing condition, sounds like there may have been a few facts missing on that one as that would mean any condition a child was born with would be pre-existing. Interestingly though while he mentioned the man was fighting to get the $90,000 in medical bills covered by his insurance he never questions why the bill was $90,000. Reid also lobbied for elimination of the donut hole in Medicare Part D
Mc Cain acted as if he was on the campaign trail and Obama reminded him the campaign was over.
Pelosi, had her share of horror stories, and reminded us how well Medicare works – but failed to mention how we are struggling to afford it and keep it solvent. She also bashed the insurance companies, but failed to tell people that as desirable as eliminating all underwriting may be, it raises cost for all covered by the coverage.
Senator Harkin argued for a comprehensive approach because you cannot do it incrementally, but failed to understand that if you start with cost you immediately have a positive effect on the access issue. Harkin also mentioned that after Massachusetts adopted it comprehensive reform premiums dropped by 40%. In reality, Massachusetts costs are out of control and the State is now looking at enforcing capitation payments on doctors.
Rockefeller says the health insurance industry is terrible and they are in it for the money. They are looking for reasons to kick you out. Employees are incentivized to find a way to kick you off the coverage. The health insurance industry is the shark that swims just below the surface waiting to bite you. Nobody has oversight over them, they can do what they want, they do, and it is money. You have to go at them to clip their wings in every way you can. John Dingell mentioned the high handed abuse by the insurance companies and the fact they can cancel your coverage as you are on a gurney going into the operating room…that and considerable rambling about who knows what.
A great deal was made (mostly by Republicans) of the fact that people should be able to buy insurance over state lines and thus save money. An example was given that a person living within a few mile of another state could buy coverage in the other state for 25% less than in their home state. Amazing, suddenly the claims incurred by the insured are no longer important. State lines have nothing to do with it. What matters are the mandates forced on insurance policies and the claims incurred by the people insured.
Back and forth, they went on deficit reduction, the Republicans saying the scoring of the Obama legislation was a Ponzi scheme in terms of lowering the deficit. You decide; revenue is counted over ten years and the spending over six.
Republicans hammered repeatedly over malpractice reform. Senator McCain used the Texas example of reform. Democrats mentioned that changing malpractice would save 1/5 of one percent of health care costs. Malpractice may help doctors save money, may lower premiums, may even draw doctors back to a state or medical practice, but there is little evidence that malpractice reforms lower health care costs. Keep in mind that the system still provides incentives for health care providers to provide more health care…that is how they make money.
McCain and others blasted the issue of getting health care reform through reconciliation, which requires 51 votes rather than a full 60-vote majority required in the Senate.
Pelosi: “The insurance industry has acted shamelessly” “Health care ref, ah health insurance reform is hard.”
In summary, there was nothing new and both Republicans and Democrats used the meeting as a platform to sell their ideas and proposals and to charm the American people…all twenty-three who made it through the day. Republicans looked weak with tired old ideas and did not make the real case that controlling costs will in fact make it easier to obtain coverage. Their plea for incremental reform fell on deaf ears and was never correctly explained. They must have said “start over” fifty times, but failed to outline what steps could be taken and in what order leaving confusion and the idea that “start over” meant do little.
The President outmaneuvered the Republicans picking a few things that Republicans favor such as malpractice reform and buying coverage across state lines and indicating his willingness to consider changes thus leaving no room for any significant change in the Democratic bills.
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