Last week, two representatives from AARP had an invitation-only town hall meeting in Monroe about national health care reform. The main message they wished to convey is one worth heeding at this critical juncture in the debate: It's imperative that Congress continue to move forward toward health care reform, rather than stopping or backtracking.
These are very uncertain times in the Washington debate, mostly as Democrats fight an internal battle over which reform measures to endorse.
Those on the left in the Democratic Party are pushing strongly for reform to include a public option - a health insurance program that would cover specific services where a premium is paid to the government, which pays private providers. It would provide competition to private insurers, in theory causing them to lower the cost of their services to consumers.
Those on the right in the Democratic Party are opposing a public option, perhaps favoring privately-run health cooperatives, perhaps supporting regulations of the insurance industry.
Those in the Republican Party, mostly, are calling for the process to begin all over again. They're opposed to the public option, skeptical of health co-ops, and wary of tight regulation of the insurance industry. While they're in the minority in Congress, their arguments against ideas proposed thus far have successfully slowed the process.
To muddy the waters more, the House Democrats say a final bill without a public option won't pass, while Senate Democrats indicate there won't be enough votes to support a public option.
This is why health care reform is in great danger of stalling as it did in the early days of the Clinton administration. That's something the American people, and the U.S. economy, cannot afford to have happen again.
A Harvard Medical School study released Friday shows nearly 45,000 Americans die per year in large part because they lack health insurance and can't get quality care. That's more than the number of deaths caused by drunken driving and homicide combined. This should not be happening in America.
According to the National Coalition on Health Care, national health care spending is expected to reach $2.5 trillion in 2009, accounting for 17.6 percent of the gross domestic product. By 2018, if the status quo is maintained, national health care expenditures are expected to reach $4.4 trillion - more than double the spending in 2007. Over the past decade, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have increased 119 percent.
Financially and socially, the U.S. cannot sustain the status quo for much longer.
Restarting the debate, as Republicans wish to do, will accomplish nothing. The discussion would end up where it is now, with the same decisions to be made. The longer the debate continues, the more politically difficult it becomes to pass anything.
Quite simply, Congress must find a way to ensure health care coverage for all Americans at a more affordable cost. A mandate that everyone have insurance is the only way to ensure universal coverage. But unless there's a reform mechanism that lowers the cost of insurance, a mandate could be financially disastrous to lower- and middle-class Americans.
A public option is one legitimate approach to lowering those costs. So, too, are tight, meaningful regulations of the private insurance industry. Significant tort reform, which Republicans support, also should be part of the final bill.
It's time for Congress to stop debating on the fringe - about illegal immigrants, abortion and "death panels" - and make the substantive changes to health care accessibility and costs that American needs, and demands.
These are very uncertain times in the Washington debate, mostly as Democrats fight an internal battle over which reform measures to endorse.
Those on the left in the Democratic Party are pushing strongly for reform to include a public option - a health insurance program that would cover specific services where a premium is paid to the government, which pays private providers. It would provide competition to private insurers, in theory causing them to lower the cost of their services to consumers.
Those on the right in the Democratic Party are opposing a public option, perhaps favoring privately-run health cooperatives, perhaps supporting regulations of the insurance industry.
Those in the Republican Party, mostly, are calling for the process to begin all over again. They're opposed to the public option, skeptical of health co-ops, and wary of tight regulation of the insurance industry. While they're in the minority in Congress, their arguments against ideas proposed thus far have successfully slowed the process.
To muddy the waters more, the House Democrats say a final bill without a public option won't pass, while Senate Democrats indicate there won't be enough votes to support a public option.
This is why health care reform is in great danger of stalling as it did in the early days of the Clinton administration. That's something the American people, and the U.S. economy, cannot afford to have happen again.
A Harvard Medical School study released Friday shows nearly 45,000 Americans die per year in large part because they lack health insurance and can't get quality care. That's more than the number of deaths caused by drunken driving and homicide combined. This should not be happening in America.
According to the National Coalition on Health Care, national health care spending is expected to reach $2.5 trillion in 2009, accounting for 17.6 percent of the gross domestic product. By 2018, if the status quo is maintained, national health care expenditures are expected to reach $4.4 trillion - more than double the spending in 2007. Over the past decade, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have increased 119 percent.
Financially and socially, the U.S. cannot sustain the status quo for much longer.
Restarting the debate, as Republicans wish to do, will accomplish nothing. The discussion would end up where it is now, with the same decisions to be made. The longer the debate continues, the more politically difficult it becomes to pass anything.
Quite simply, Congress must find a way to ensure health care coverage for all Americans at a more affordable cost. A mandate that everyone have insurance is the only way to ensure universal coverage. But unless there's a reform mechanism that lowers the cost of insurance, a mandate could be financially disastrous to lower- and middle-class Americans.
A public option is one legitimate approach to lowering those costs. So, too, are tight, meaningful regulations of the private insurance industry. Significant tort reform, which Republicans support, also should be part of the final bill.
It's time for Congress to stop debating on the fringe - about illegal immigrants, abortion and "death panels" - and make the substantive changes to health care accessibility and costs that American needs, and demands.
