In a sign that President-Elect Obama means business, former
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) was selected to fill the top spot at
the Department of Health and Human Services. This is good news. Very good news.
"The appointment of Senator Daschle as Secretary of the Health and Human
Services Department is the best news possible for those who want to achieve
meaningful health care reform," said Families USA's Ron Pollack.
In addition to leading HHS, Daschle will also serve as the health
"czar" - or White House point person who will report directly to the
President.
This is a
perfect role for Daschle. Although he was always been interested in health
care, in the last few years he's become a true wonk on the subject, publishing
a book called Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis. It
urges precisely the sorts of reforms President-Elect Obama and his
congressional allies are promoting right now.
Daschle's track-record as Senate Minority leader turned
health wonk gives him incisive knowledge of both the political environment and
the policy required to push legislation through Congress.
Speaking at Families USA's Health Action conference last
year, Daschle
said:
One of the biggest tactical
mistakes we've made, the opponents of health reform have defined the debate. As
a result, we've lived under a number of myths. Perhaps the biggest myth of all
is that the US
has the best health system in the world. So before the debate can begin, we
need to all understand the same basic facts. We need to understand how we got
here and where we need to go.
Incremental change in our
system is no longer a viable option. Instead we need comprehensive reform. In
growing numbers the American people are demanding that we do something. Our
goal should be to build what current and retired members of Congress have
today, and make that available for all Americans.
Daschle's commitment to health care, combined with his astute
understanding of the political climate, gives us reason to believe that health
care reform is not simply a campaign promise, but a likely reality in an Obama
administration.
Today, Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance
Committee, revealed his long awaited white paper on
health care reform. According to the Senator,
...the
Call to Action has three equally important legs: (1) a policy that ensures
meaningful coverage and care to all Americans; (2) an insistence that any such
expansion be coupled with an emphasis on higher quality, greater value, and -
over time - less costly care; and (3) an absolute commitment to weed out waste,
eliminate overpayments, and design a sustainable financing system that works
for taxpayers as well as for the nation's recipients and providers of health
care.
Creating ahealth insurance "exchange," where individuals and small businesses
could compare and purchase plans - which would include a range of private
plans and a public plan option.
An expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP.
The plan would allow people between 55 and 64 to
"buy-in" to Medicare as a temporary transition provision until quality,
affordable insurance options are available through the exchange.
Support for the employer based model where
employers would be required to offer coverage to their employees, and
small businesses would receive a tax credit if they comply.
Senator Baucus, along with
Senator Kennedy, is expected to play a very important role, as Ezra Klein explains
here, in the road
to reform. Baucus chairs the Senate Finance Committee, which has broad
jurisdiction, overseeing health care reform, Social Security, unemployment
benefits, and taxes and trade. As chairman, it is up to Baucus to schedule
markups, hearings, and votes - and ultimately serves as the gatekeeper for
legislative action on, say, health care reform.
Having Baucus on board with such a comprehensive plan is
certainly encouraging. To quote Families USA's own Ron Pollack:
"The white paper
released today achieves a sound balance between public- and private-sector
approaches, and it blends good policy with a sound view of what is achievable.
"There has never
been a more auspicious opportunity to secure meaningful health care reform: The
President-Elect has made it a top priority; key congressional committee chairs
have made it their top priority; and the large and diverse health care interest
groups are working cooperatively to find common ground.
"As a result, we
have a unique opportunity to succeed this time in securing much-needed health care
reform."
We heard encouraging words from Michael Myers, staff director for the Senate
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, chaired by Senator Ted
Kennedy, at Families USA's post-election health care briefing:
"With the Obama victory, the
question is no longer whether we'll pursue comprehensive healthcare reform, but
when and in what form."
Determined to see health care reform come to fruition, Senator
Kennedy has wasted no time in convening regular meetings with key stakeholders in
the hopes of introducing comprehensive legislation in early January. In an
op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post., Kennedy reiterated
the urgency for reform:
"...despite the current economic downturn, we must forge
ahead with this urgent priority. The system is broken. And it's no longer just
patients demanding change. Businesses, doctors and even many insurance
companies are demanding it as well."
The specifics of his reform proposal remain under wraps,
according to Kennedy's office, but Myers
suggested that it will look much like Obama's plan and the Senator will
pursue a "single bill" strategy.
Senator
Obama's proposal builds on our current system of health coverage, preserving
what works and strengthening aspects of the system that need improvement. Under
his plan, workers who are satisfied with their employer-based coverage would
keep it. A new National Health Insurance Exchange would enable individuals and
businesses to purchase health coverage that's as good as the coverage for
members of Congress and other federal employees. His proposal requires that all
children have insurance. It would also cap out-of-pocket expenses and regulate
insurance companies so that they can no longer cherry-pick the young and
healthy and deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
Many observers are poised
to see reform finally happen. Having learned a thing or two from the last
reform efforts in 1993 led by President Clinton, and understanding that reform
is not inevitable, many stakeholders (who don't always see eye-to-eye) are
searching for common ground. In Congress, staff from three jurisdictional
committees -- Finance, Budget, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
-- have met to form working groups to discuss coverage expansion, systems
reform, and financing. In addition, Senator Baucus, chair of the Finance
Committee, which must approve any legislation before it goes to the Senate
floor, is also committed
to reform:
"I made sure the finance committee
spent this year learning and preparing for action on a comprehensive overhaul
of the healthcare system, and I intend for us to move swiftly and decisively with
legislation in early 2009."
We'll hear more from Baucus this week when he releases his
white paper on health reform.
Posted by: Ron Pollack, Executive Director, Families USA on Nov 05, 2008
The election we witnessed yesterday was not simply historic - it was truly transformative.
Just 43 years ago, Congress passed, and President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act. For decades, since the end of Reconstruction, voting for many in the states of the old Confederacy was an act of unmatched heroism. To vote was to lose a job - even the laborious job of chopping and picking cotton for a meager $3 a day. To vote was to have your house shot into in the dark of night. To vote was to risk, and for too many to lose, one's life.
The Voting Rights Act was borne out of the heroism of many. Most visibly, it was catapulted onto the national agenda by the hundreds of brave souls, led by John Lewis in March of 1965, who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge leaving Selma, Alabama east on Route 80 to march towards Montgomery. As they crossed the bridge, they were brutally assaulted by police and highway patrolmen on horseback. They were beaten but not defeated.
Dr. Martin Luther King re-started the march soon thereafter. Thousands marched with him, sleeping in the fields at night. Singing their defiance of then-Governor George Wallace, they chanted:
Wallace, you never can jail us all,
Wallace, segregation's going to fall!
And they made it triumphantly to Montgomery. At night, after the final speeches were over near the State Capitol, Viola Liuzzo - a then-unknown civil rights activist who participated in the march - was murdered.
In the first election in Mississippi after the Voting Rights Act, a number of brave heroes decided to run for local office: sheriff, county board of education, mayor, county supervisor. They knew they wouldn't win, but they were undaunted.
I remember in the all-black town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi - in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, in the poorest part of our nation - black leaders assembled in houses before the elections, not knowing what violence they would face. Some had guns and other weapons to protect themselves and their families; others, more schooled and adherent to Dr. King's admonitions of non-violence, simply brought their bodies and heroic determination to vote for the first time.
Now, only four-plus decades later, we have witnessed an election that no one could realistically have dreamed about during those dark and difficult days. President-Elect Barack Obama's triumph - more profoundly, the triumph of our nation - is, in no small part, the victory of so many people who risked all they had to work for a better day.
For those of us fortunate to see, and participate in, this transformative election, our work must continue and start anew. This election is an opportunity - an opportunity to bring fairness and decency and dignity for those who have yet to share our nation's bounty. It is only the achievement of such justice that will enable us to realize Dr. King's dream: "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we're free at last."
In the era of eBay, you can buy just about anything from
just about anywhere. Senator McCain and other lawmakers have proposed putting
health insurance on a similar nationwide auctioning block by allowing consumers
to purchase health insurance from any other state. This may sound harmless, but
the effects of buying and selling health insurance across state lines would be far
more dangerous than, say, your latest treasure found on eBay.
Those who support purchasing health insurance from any state
argue that it will invigorate market competition and drive down premiums.
However, a recent study by the New
America Foundation showed that:
The primary source of "savings" under [this
kind of proposal] is not more competition or more efficient insurers. The
savings comes from separating the healthy from the sick.... [It] would lower
premiums for the healthiest Americans, but it would raise premiums and reduce
coverage options for everyone else.
Indeed, permitting the sale of health insurance across state
lines would undermine all existing
consumer protections, which are determined state by state. As Families USA
revealed, state consumer protections-particularly in the individual health
insurance market-vary dramatically from state to state. Some states have made
tremendous strides in creating accessible, functional insurance markets for
individuals and small businesses. As the New America Foundation points out, Senator
McCain's proposal would eliminate the best protections and bring all states
down to the lowest common denominator:
[Selling health insurance across state
lines] would have the ultimate effect of standardizing state regulation to the
least restrictive level, thus de facto
de-regulating individual insurance markets. Politically, this allows the
de-regulatory preferences of one state to negate the regulatory preferences of
the 49 other states, without either a national or state-specific vote.
This proposal has far more
insidious implications for consumers than its proponents will admit. Crossing
state lines to find a great deal on a limited edition autographed book is one
thing. Crossing state lines to find health insurance just crosses the line.
Recently we've heard a lot from politicians that we've been
spending beyond our means, that we must scale back and tighten our belts. Fair
enough in theory, but do working Americans even have pudge to trim in their
budgets?
Well, certainly people are trying to cut back. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation
poll found that Americans are avoiding doctor-recommended health care
services because of the cost.
Nearly half (47 percent) of Americans report someone in their household ...
skipping necessary health care in the past year because of the cost. Specifically,
just over one-third say they put off or
postponed needed care and three in
ten say they skipped a recommended test or treatment.... Roughly one in four say they did not fill a prescription, and only slightly
fewer say they cut pills or skipped doses.
Cutting
down on health care has many implications - not least of which are the dangers
associated with forgoing medical treatment early on that could help prevent
chronic, and costly, illnesses down the road. But it's no wonder Americans are
reluctant to go to the doctor when money is tight: The same survey found that
about a third of families have had
problems paying medical bills in the past year. And these are not trivial bills,
most amounting to thousands of dollars.
Families
USA reported that about 61.6 million Americans are in families that spend
more than 10% of their pre-tax income on health care costs. For a family of
four earning $60,000 a year, spending that much on health care leaves them with
a $3,000 deficit after paying for other necessities, such as housing,
utilities, gas, transportation, food, and education. While research
has clearly shown that avoiding needed medical care is harmful to your
health, there's just no room in the budget for huge, unanticipated medical
bills.
It's clear that American families' needs overwhelm
their means. As far as family budgets are concerned, you can't pinch an inch. Skimping
on needed health care services in an old-fashioned belt-tightening effort is
not good for the long-term health of our citizens or our country.
Need more evidence that health care matters this election?
Just follow the money.
To date, Obama has outspent McCain on health care ads by eight times. This year, Obama has spent
68% of his TV ad budget on health care-themed ads, while McCain only spent 13%.
According to
Politico:
Obama's health care messaging
dwarfs McCain's. So far this year, Obama has aired almost 192,000 commercials
that mention health care as a priority, while McCain has run 11,300.
Obama has made 117 different ads. McCain has released 10, four of which have
run in October. Obama, by contrast, released 18 ads in October. Already this
month, Obama has spent $48.5 million on health care ads, and McCain has spent
$261,000.
Obama is clobbering McCain on health care messaging and, according
to Kaiser's Health Tracking Poll, the ads are paying off for Obama - more people
understand Obama's intentions on health care (78%-65%). What's more, Obama is
putting more resources and energy into talking about McCain's plan than McCain is about his own. Obama is
not only trying to convince voters that they'll be better off under his own
health care proposal, but he's successfully defined McCain's plan in a negative
light.
Voters are paying attention. With the economic gloom
placing a dark cloud over voter's financial security, and health care premiums
rising faster than paychecks, voters are increasingly insecure about access
to quality and affordable health care.
Obama has consistently picked up on this concern, by running ads that
remind voters that health care is a top priority issue for them - and one that
the new President must make a top priority in 2009.
"My family and I struggle under the
weight and frustration of huge deductibles and heavy co-pays. We believe there has to be a better way." -- Chris, New Jersey
Chris is not alone. He and millions of others are facing the
daily struggles of health care that is not affordable or accessible, with
escalating high deductibles and co-pays, skyrocketing premiums, fewer covered
vital services, unfair denials of coverage, and the list goes on....
With costs rising and the economy falling, more people are
forced to make painful decisions, like paying for food or prescriptions; taking
their kids to a doctor or putting gas in the car. Health care security is
fundamental to every family's economic security.
Chris is one of the hundreds of people who responded to our
call for personal stories about why the next President should make health care
a top priority. The response was
overwhelming. The following video is a
collection of some of what we heard:
After you watch the video, sign the petition urging the next
President to make health care reform a priority so every American has
affordable, high quality health insurance - no matter what job you have or if
you have a pre-existing condition. Everyone deserves to know that when they
need health care they will be able to afford it, even in hard times. We all
deserve peace of mind about the health of our families.
You may be able to buy a used car may cost $5800, but a
high-quality health insurance plan? Forget it.
In the third and final presidential debate, Senator John
McCain defended his health care proposal by arguing that his $5000 tax credit
will cover most of your health insurance premium, with average premiums running
at $5800 for the year:
The average cost of a health care insurance plan in America
today is $5,800. I'm going to give them $5,000 to take with them wherever they
want to go, and this will give them affordability.
Where does McCain draw this $5800 figure from? Straight from the health insurance lobby. In its 2006-2007
annual report, America's
Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) found that average annual premiums in the
individual market were $5800 for a family and $2600 for an individual.
While there probably are some out there who get coverage for
$5800, keep in mind that there are millions who get quality coverage through
their employer, which the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates at $12,680 per
year.
Here's the deal with McCain's estimate. First, it assumes
that you'll be able to get coverage at all, and not be among the 11% AHIP
estimates are flat-out denied. Second, it assumes that you're a healthy
individual who won't be charged high premiums because of pre-existing
conditions. It also assumes that you're able to pay the high deductibles for
individual coverage, averaging at $1,700 for a PPO, according to AHIP, before
your coverage kicks in. (Compare that to the $327 average deductible for an
employee according
to the EBRI.) And finally, you may get stuck with really high cost-sharing.
So what is covered? Individual market
premiums are low because, well, you get less. The benefits packages offered are
often much skimpier than what's offered by your job-based coverage. In the individual
market, consumers are stuck paying premiums for a plan that doesn't cover the
services they need, and either paying for the services out of pocket, or
forgoing care.
If it sounds too good to be true when Senator McCain
says you're getting something for nothing (or nothing much), that's because it
is.
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Category: Health Care Costs,Medicaid,Medicare,Pre-Existing Conditions,Racial and Ethnic Disparities,Children's Health,Underinsurance and Medical Debt,Uninsured Americans
