We’ve obviously been asked about our reaction to the procedural vote that took place on Saturday to allow debate and discussion to proceed for HR 3590. In a nutshell- we’re very concerned.
We’ve tried to remain bi-partisan throughout the process. We’ve been slightly biased as we’re more “in the center” than the proposals submitted by either side. We’ve always supported a more organized system (probably through a light intervention of government simply due to the make-up of the existing system) and one focused more on organized delivery and efficiciency. We’ve recognized the unfair reality of the current system that leaves a significant portion of our population with limited or no access to care but always felt that issue can be addressed as the delivery system itself becomes more efficient. The heavy involvement of government and the focus on covering everyone out of the shoot (insurance reform) as the primary goal just doesn’t make sense.
The talking points were clear as we watched the debate unfold on Saturday. Democrats were demonizing the insurance industry and were doing all of this to protect the poor consumer and Republicans were appalled with the size of the legislative monstrosity that was sitting on the table in front of them. While we certainly understand being critical of the lack of consumer focus of our health care industry, as consumers, we leaned more toward the Republican side on this one.
If you don’t want to read all 2074 pages of HR 3590 you can get a pretty good idea of the content and implications by reading CBO’s scoring of it. You can get it by going to the Resource Library on our site, or by clicking here. CBO’s letter is another “caution flag” for us considering all of the qualifications they had to use to come up with the numbers. There was certainly some creative accounting involved and we think the numbers provided are all on the low side. Remember, Medicare blew out its budget within the first two years after it was enacted in the mid-60s.
We seriously question the ability to our country to finance such a massive piece of social legislation without further adding to our national debt (despite the numbers provided by the CBO). We seriously question the feasibility of setting up co-ops or public option alternatives to be competitive in an already fragmented market (these folks have obviously never been in negotiating sessions between health plans and providers). And, we question the ability of establishing a government-based infrastructure to address the real issues of prevention, wellness, care coordination, efficiency, and patient-centered care.
In a previous posting we recommended Obama and the legislative process slow down and do this right. We can only reiterate that here but don’t think it’s going to happen. You can read a letter sent to Obama from Newt Gingerich and a host of others that reflects our views by clicking here. Unfortunately, the Democrats are now more focused on a deadline of getting this done before the end of the year as opposed to doing it right. The Republican votes are already lined up no matter what takes place in the debate over the next few weeks. Once again, it’s going to be the Blue Dog Democrats who will determine the outcome.
Our economy is still on the precipice and our unemployment rate remains high. We have two wars that need to be appropriately funded to protect the men and women who are sacrificing their lives to protect our freedoms. These should be the priorities of focus and deserve the appropriate financial resources. We will reiterate- “government-light” not “government-run”.
We wish someone would call a “do over” on this one
We’ve tried to remain bi-partisan throughout the process. We’ve been slightly biased as we’re more “in the center” than the proposals submitted by either side. We’ve always supported a more organized system (probably through a light intervention of government simply due to the make-up of the existing system) and one focused more on organized delivery and efficiciency. We’ve recognized the unfair reality of the current system that leaves a significant portion of our population with limited or no access to care but always felt that issue can be addressed as the delivery system itself becomes more efficient. The heavy involvement of government and the focus on covering everyone out of the shoot (insurance reform) as the primary goal just doesn’t make sense.
The talking points were clear as we watched the debate unfold on Saturday. Democrats were demonizing the insurance industry and were doing all of this to protect the poor consumer and Republicans were appalled with the size of the legislative monstrosity that was sitting on the table in front of them. While we certainly understand being critical of the lack of consumer focus of our health care industry, as consumers, we leaned more toward the Republican side on this one.
If you don’t want to read all 2074 pages of HR 3590 you can get a pretty good idea of the content and implications by reading CBO’s scoring of it. You can get it by going to the Resource Library on our site, or by clicking here. CBO’s letter is another “caution flag” for us considering all of the qualifications they had to use to come up with the numbers. There was certainly some creative accounting involved and we think the numbers provided are all on the low side. Remember, Medicare blew out its budget within the first two years after it was enacted in the mid-60s.
We seriously question the ability to our country to finance such a massive piece of social legislation without further adding to our national debt (despite the numbers provided by the CBO). We seriously question the feasibility of setting up co-ops or public option alternatives to be competitive in an already fragmented market (these folks have obviously never been in negotiating sessions between health plans and providers). And, we question the ability of establishing a government-based infrastructure to address the real issues of prevention, wellness, care coordination, efficiency, and patient-centered care.
In a previous posting we recommended Obama and the legislative process slow down and do this right. We can only reiterate that here but don’t think it’s going to happen. You can read a letter sent to Obama from Newt Gingerich and a host of others that reflects our views by clicking here. Unfortunately, the Democrats are now more focused on a deadline of getting this done before the end of the year as opposed to doing it right. The Republican votes are already lined up no matter what takes place in the debate over the next few weeks. Once again, it’s going to be the Blue Dog Democrats who will determine the outcome.
Our economy is still on the precipice and our unemployment rate remains high. We have two wars that need to be appropriately funded to protect the men and women who are sacrificing their lives to protect our freedoms. These should be the priorities of focus and deserve the appropriate financial resources. We will reiterate- “government-light” not “government-run”.
We wish someone would call a “do over” on this one
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