The current system doesn't match our morals, economics, and sociology. Morally, we accept inequality too easily, yet the unfairness of death caused by inadequate insurance is something that offends us. The bills in the House and Senate appear to deal with this issue well.
Economically, we have the most expensive system and the current bills don't have the incentives to deal with this issue.
Sociologically, we've missed the target completely -- we insist on sticking to a employer funded system. When people held lifetime jobs, this may have made sense, but we're now it a time when people change jobs every couple years. Yet, the proposal to change the source of funding is being ignored.
I'm personally puzzled why there are no loud voices talking about how health care funded by employers is an unseen tax on everything we buy. Tax people directly and the price of goods can drop -- and we get to see the true price of health care. Maybe that's what scares lawmakers.
The big article is by Sen. Ted Kennedy (and his speech writer). He talks about the times he needed health care -- his 1964 plane crash, his son Teddy's bout with cancer that took his leg -- and was glad his insurance covered all he needed. He became quite aware that other patients didn't have it so well. He also talks about the frequent battles over universal coverage starting with Teddy Roosevelt (!) and Harry Truman and on through the various efforts he had a hand in. He calls health care, "The cause of my life."
He also lists what he feels must be in a new bill. He is quite aware that he may not get it all in this round and new efforts can come every few years. Alas, I think that means some congressmen will say, "We've already solved that issue." Kennedy's requirements:
* Universal coverage.
* To accomplish this we must cut costs, and that requires a public option.
* Replace the system that rewards doctors for the number of tests with a system that rewards for the quality of outcome.
* Social justice and economics mean long term care that allows seniors to stay in their own homes.
* Don't disturb the coverage we already have (contradicting Weisberg above).
* Emphasize prevention over cure.
Kennedy ends by saying what we have now is not sustainable.
A few thoughts of my own. A lot of the stories about the GOP are about how racist the remaining party supporters are. The biggest roadblock currently is cost. That makes me think about one of the reasons GOP congressmen don't want to raise taxes and don't want programs that in any way help the poor -- we don't want any of our money going to help Those People.
No comments:
Post a Comment