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Category: AllThe Fix Is Not InOctober 23, 2009
by Grace-Marie TurnerCost matters: The cost of health care remains the central issue in the health reform debate, and that's why the news this week was so bad for leaders on both sides of Capitol Hill.
Good grief! Can they possibly get this done? ******* A great new poll: We released a new poll this week that is getting a lot of attention, and for good reason. We asked people what they think of the proposals that Congress actually is considering (rather than the innocuous mushy questions many other pollsters ask). As I described in a piece for today's Washington Examiner, people don't want to be forced to buy health insurance or pay a new tax, they don't want seniors' Medicare benefits to be cut to pay for coverage for the uninsured, and they don't want the middle class to have to pay higher taxes, but they do want a targeted approach to reform. Are they getting the message, do you think? (Kudos to Jeff Lungren for his help with the survey project.) ******* An analogy: Many people say we should pass the health reform legislation Congress is developing because "We have to do something!" But that's like saying if you have a painful kidney stone, you should have your kidney removed! What kind of medicine would it be to do a major expensive operation, sacrifice an organ, and make the patient much sicker? With time and medicines the stone will pass while the otherwise healthy kidney takes over, and prevention can help keep the problem from recurring. Unfortunately, Congress is planning radical surgery with its sweeping legislation that would impact one-sixth of our economy -- and the lives of millions of people for years to come. The American people are doing everything they can to tell Congress they don't want the surgery it is prescribing for our health sector. They want them to be more careful, take time to make sure they are doing the right thing, and go more slowly. And always, politicians considering health care reform would do well to heed the physicians' principle to do no harm. Be sure to sign our petition to tell Congress just that.
GALEN IN THE NEWS Humpty Dumpty Health Reform? Many of the deals that the White House has been cutting all year with health industry leaders are starting to show the cracks and strains of political pressures in Congress, Turner writes. The challenges they face include cost, universal coverage, tax increases, Medicaid expansion, and mandates. The 80-20 rule will prevail: The big players seem to agree on 80% of reform, but there is 20% that the various parties just can't live with. And it's a different 20% for each one. This deal is going to be incredibly difficult to hold. Read More » HEALTH REFORM The Insurance Fix The Obama administration has become intent on passing sweeping government reform under the guise of "health insurance reform." However, substantial improvements to private insurance markets can be much more targeted and straightforward, Miller and Capretta write. These include changes to HIPAA and COBRA provisions to ensure portability between insurance plans, measures to prevent higher premium upticks for customers moving from group to individual insurance markets, ensuring that market entrants only face a single risk evaluation, and opportunities for the uninsured to opt back in to the system under new protections. Read More » Ill-Conceived Ranking Makes for Unhealthy Debate During the health care debate, one damning statistic keeps popping up in newspaper columns and letters, on cable television and in politicians' statements: The U.S. ranks 37th in the world in health care. The trouble is, the raking is dated and flawed, and has contributed to misconceptions about the quality of the U.S. medical system, Bialik writes. Among all the numbers bandied about in the health care debate, this ranking stands out as particularly misleading. It is based on a report released nearly a decade ago by the World Health Organization and relies on statistics that are even older and incomplete. Further, the ranking was faulted because it judges health care systems for problems -- cultural, behavioral, and economic -- that aren't controlled by health care. A WHO spokesman says the organization has no plans to update the rankings, and adds, "We would not consider it current." Read More » Competition and Health Insurance Repealing the antitrust exemption for health insurers would not significantly increase competition, and it would not make health insurance coverage either less expensive or more available, Harrington writes. There is no evidence that the exemption has increased health insurers' prices or profits or contributed to higher market concentration. Repealing the McCarron-Ferguson antitrust exemption would also not lower the cost of malpractice insurance, or prevent future malpractice insurance crises. It would instead tend to reduce rate accuracy and undermine competition in already fragile malpractice markets. Read More » Individual Health Insurance 2009: A Comprehensive Survey of Premiums, Availability, and Benefits The latest in a series of AHIP surveys shows that the market for individually purchased coverage is more affordable and accessible than may be widely known. Nationwide, annual premiums averaged $2,985 for single coverage and $6,328 for family plans in mid-2009. The survey also highlights the contrast in premiums between the young and old: For single policies, annual premiums ranged from $1,350 for persons under age 18, to $5,755 for persons aged 60-64. Premiums varied by state, reflecting a variety of factors, including premium rating and underwriting rules. For example, average annual premiums for single policies reported in the survey ranged from $2,606 in Iowa to $6,630 in New York. Read More » Taxing the Sick: How "Fees" in Health Care Reform Hurt Patients The Senate Finance Committee's health care bill imposes fees on brand name pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. These fees are essentially excise taxes, Brill writes. While they have some political appeal given the common but erroneous perception that these companies will be forced to forgo some of their alleged "excessive" profits, the new taxes will essentially require sick people to subsidize health care for other sick people. In addition, the legislation calls for an increase in the Medicaid drug rebate that drug manufacturers must pay to Medicaid. The increase in the rebate will also cause manufacturers to raise prices on consumers. Read More » Read more about health reform proposals on the Health Reform Hub >> Events SAVE THE DATE! Public Opinion on Health Reform: What Do the Polls Mean? 78th Annual Education Conference Expanding Health Care Coverage to all Americans Addressing Pre-Existing Conditions: Bringing Affordable Coverage within Reach Dispelling Health Care Myths
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