Fiddling as health care crisis burns

Fiddling as health care crisis burns
The Other Side Column in the Fairfield Daily Republic By Kelvin Wade February 25, 2010 6:10PM

'I think any Republican that says you should start from scratch (on health-care reform), I think that's bogus talk, and that's partisan talk.' - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Almost 20 years ago I was sick and had no health insurance. It was strep throat, but I didn't know it at the time. I just knew I had a fever, felt miserable and felt like I was gargling razor blades.

I endured it for a week before my girlfriend made me go to the emergency room. The doc took one look down my throat and wrote a prescription for antibiotics that cleared up the infection. The bill was around $175. I paid it.

Multiply that by thousands. Millions. Think of the people who don't have health insurance and refuse to go to the doctor. Untreated strep throat can lead to tonsillitis or rheumatic fever. It can affect the kidneys and have severe complications like cardiovascular disease.

When those complications arise, the person will invariably head to the ER, the most expensive place for treatment. By that time, the uninsured patient has let a prescription for an antibiotic turn into thousands of dollars of medical care that you and I will pay.

We know we need health-care reform. And it shouldn't be a partisan issue. I have a chronic medical condition that has had me in and out of the hospital.

I've had bureaucratic pencil pushers deny claims. And I've seen conservative Republican friends battling the system, trying to maintain coverage and spending through the nose. Illness doesn't discriminate. Insurers do.

The fear is that today's health care summit between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders is just a dog and pony show. The cynics would say that the talking points have been written long before this summit. In fact it would be shocking if Republicans didn't leave the meeting and scramble before a bank of microphones to denounce the Democrats for not including them.

And it would probably be a safe bet that Democrats will say the Republicans aren't serious about reform.

Now, we shouldn't want bipartisanship just for bipartisanship's sake. But if Republicans have good ideas that would help reform the system, they should be heard. If they have cost-cutting ideas, let's hear them. But in the end, the final bill is going to be a progressive one.

Why? Because the Democrats are in the majority and elections matter. If the GOP controlled Congress and the White House, I would expect a conservative bill.

As a framework for discussion, the president posted his health-care plan online Monday. It reconciles the Senate and House health-care bills. It allows those who like their current coverage to keep it, ends discrimination against preexisting conditions and provides subsidies to help individuals and families afford insurance.

It gives the government the authority to block huge premium increases like we're seeing here in California by Anthem Blue Cross. There's tax credits for small businesses. And there are many different provisions designed to crack down on Medicare fraud.

Read the plan for yourself. It's online. It's only 11 pages.

Republicans have already rejected the bill. They want to start from scratch, which as our governor pointed out is just partisan politics. We've been at this a year. Starting over is just stalling.

This is too important not to do. In the final analysis, if the Democrats need to pass health-care reform via reconciliation without GOP support, then they should grow spines and do it.

But if no bill passes, it shouldn't be champagne popping time for Republicans. Those millions of uninsured will continue being treated at the ER just like I was years ago but at our expense. WellPoint, Anthem's parent company, is raising rates in 11 states. Expect that to continue. And according to a Harvard study, 45,000 Americans will continue to die every year because they don't have coverage.

There's a cost to doing nothing. Peace.
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NOTES: The bottom line is something needs to be done. Washington frequently can't do things because they're concerned about who is going to get the credit and who will get the blame.

it's important that any reform doesn't add to the deficit/debt. It's important to bring costs down. And of course this would be a lot easier if the American public was in better health to begin with.

Now I see many conservatives point to polling that shows the public doesn't support the Senate bill. But I believe that's only because the Democrats can't sell it. Like Bill Maher said, the Democrats couldn't sell a Boy Scout to a pedophile. When you poll individual parts of the bill, those elements are popular. Also, polling has consistently shown that the public favors a public option. Research 2000 just did an eight state poll on this very issue and found roughly 60% favor a public option. So, when you see polling that shows only a third of Americans support the Senate bill, keep in mind that those who oppose it aren't just teabaggers and conservatives but progressives who don't like it because it lacks a public option AND they see it as a giveaway to insurance companies.

Watching the health care summit, I see politicians sticking to their talking points. In a new Gallup poll, 77% don't think the summit will end in agreement. 56% feel President Obama will make a sincere effort. 54% don't think Republicans will make a sincere effort. But the positions are already set. The talking points written.

The easiest thing is to not care. I mean, I have health care. I've got a good doctor now. Why should I care? But its my country. And its naive to think that other peoples' lack of health care doesn't affect me. Of course it does.