Do you remember those funny, over-the-top used car commercials that were a hit in the 1970s and 80s? They would usually show a guy dressed in a sport coat, some sort of plaid clothing, screaming at the top of his voice about how great the car is, and you should come down to NOW! The pitch is to make you not notice how bad the car is nor question how much it will cost you down the road when hidden mechanical issues surface and you cannot return the car. The more I listen to coverage over the health care reform debate, the more I imagine that used car salesman standing in front of the White House.
In what seems to be legislation running on warp speed, both the House and Senate Democratic leadership are pushing the vote on a fundamental revamping of our national health care industry. This legislation, one proposal exceeding 1000 pages, is being touted as “critical” for the nation and that we cannot wait to have it implemented. President Obama recently said that it is urgent “for both the House and the Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess.” To make sure he has the votes necessary, he stated in a different address, “those who would oppose our efforts should take a hard look at just what it is they’re defending.”
Obama isn’t the only one standing on a soapbox trying to rush the legislation. Nancy Pelosi has also stated that the legislation can be passed by August. To pay for the plan, House Democrats have proposed implementing a progressive surtax on households making over $350,000 a year. However, Pelosi feels so confident over the draft legislation, she stated that new taxes wouldn’t be needed to cover the $10 Trillion program. She said, “I believe the most of the cost of the health care bill can come from squeezing out savings.” But just so you don’t think she’s fooling you, she went on to say, “There is going to be a revenue change at the high end … it will be directly to reduce the deficit or by helping to cover the cost of this initiative.”
Looking back at the used car commercial example I mentioned earlier, it seems that both Obama and Pelosi are doing the screaming and quick talking to convince you that you must accept the health care reform they are proposing before it is too late. All that seems to be missing from this example is the actual commercial. Don’t fear folks, for the Propaganda President (sorry, it was just too funny not to say) has that covered. The political organization that helped him win the election in November is releasing a 30-second commercial informing the public that this reform must be passed.
The problem with all of this is that some of Democrats are not going along with the plan. The commercial, in fact, is meant to target the base of key Democratic Congressmen and women in the hopes to pressure their Representatives and Senators to back the bill. It sounds funny, but it is true. Congressman Mike Ross (of Arkansas) is one of the targeted Democrats. Addressing the need of Democratic support for the legislation, he stated, “it takes seven Democrats to stop a bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee … we had seven against it last Friday; we have 10 today.”
Complicating the Democrats plan, Douglas Elmendorf (Director of the Congressional Budget Office) has testified about the long-term budget outlook of the nation. Highlighting the impact that spending on Medicare and Medicaid continues to outpace the economy, Elmendorf points out how half of the budget will be dedicated solely to health care by 2080. He went on to describe Pelosi’s concept of funding health care without increasing taxes as “tying one of the two hands behind one’s back.”
Elmendorf has a point. Congress has brought us programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and all three programs have never met the concept of being self-sufficient. We always hear how the programs need reform before they run out of money, yet Congress never “fixes” them. How can we even consider that they can make a government-operated health care program (aka, the public option) that is budget neutral?
Maybe we should take a lesson from the used car salesman. If they are trying to push something on us, and telling us that we cannot wait, maybe we should push back and demand a full review of not just the legislation but the actual problem with our health care industry. After all, when you go to a doctor for a sore arm, the doctor doesn’t give you an aspirin (to treat the symptoms) and rush you out the door. The doctor asks you a lot of questions to obtain information and examines your arm closely to discover what is actually ailing you. Treating the source is the only way to keep the symptoms from returning. Do we really want a rushed health care “reform” to be passed just for us to readdress the issue later when the “symptoms” return?
Related articles:
NASDAQ – “Centrist Dem Leader: Has Committee Votes To Block Health Bill”
FOX News – “Obama on Health Care Reform: ‘We need to buck people up’”
Congressional Budget Office – “Director’s Blog: The Long-Term Budget Outlook”
CNN – “Democrat: Obama slowing down progress on health care reform”
US News & World Report – “Obama Running TV Ads Aimed at Democratic Senators on His Bloated Healthcare plan”
USA Today – “Obama’s day: Promoting health care”
Associated Press – “Obama shifts into campaign mode on health care”
Yahoo News – “Budget umpire: Health care bills would raise costs”
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Obama's late on the commercial – I've already seen two anti-health care reform commercials. And I know more will be coming.
Obama's late on the commercial – I've already seen two anti-health care reform commercials. And I know more will be coming.
I know what you mean. There are three that I have seen so far. The first one shows a Canadian citizen discussing that she would have to wait 6 months for a life-saving operation, a wait that would have cost the lady her life. There is also that funny commercial with the over-the-top government regulator in the doctors office with a woman, and he is constantly shaking his finger at the patient/doctor. The last one is of a practicing female doctor discussing the impacts of government take-over would have on her ability to serve the patient.
I know what you mean. There are three that I have seen so far. The first one shows a Canadian citizen discussing that she would have to wait 6 months for a life-saving operation, a wait that would have cost the lady her life. There is also that funny commercial with the over-the-top government regulator in the doctors office with a woman, and he is constantly shaking his finger at the patient/doctor. The last one is of a practicing female doctor discussing the impacts of government take-over would have on her ability to serve the patient.
They're trying to “reform” the wrong part of healthcare. They need to make access to healthcare affordable – not insurance. The cost of insurance is driven up because of all the state mandated coverages forced into the group plans. I have to pay for a policy that has mandated coverage for mammograms, birth control, and pap smears – yet – I will never ever need to use them. So, my premiums are up because I have to pay for stuff I don't need. So far, the bill proposed does the same thing – it has mandated process, procedures, and special groups of people that are mandated – which will drive up the cost of this bill as well. The government needs to get out of the insurance business – and needs to actually reduce access to health care through tort reform, investment in technology, and incentivising growth in the industry by encouraging more physicians to enter the market. We have severe shortages of physicians in some areas because of all the heavy regulations and the mandated multi-million $$$$ liability policies they are required to carry because of potential lawsuits. There are other areas of wasteful and needless spending in the healthcare arena that could reduce costs as well – i.e. – repealing EMTALA that forces hospitals to take care of everyone that walks in to the waiting room whether they can pay or not – when they don't pay – it increases the costs to everybody else to cover those services to the indigent or illegals.
Anyway – getting off the soapbox now. As an industry insider for 18 years from all sides of the healthcare spectrum – there are areas that could be improved – and the first is to get government out of it.
“Do we really want a rushed health care “reform” to be passed just for us to readdress the issue later when the “symptoms” return?”
Forget the symptons, health care as we currently know it might be dead if we rush into things.