A Target to Shoot At
It has been nearly 14 years since President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, burst onto the scene with promises of healthcare reform. Perhaps their ideas were too radical, perhaps the country was not ready for it, but for whatever reason, nothing much changed. In fact, the genie was stuffed back into the bottle and nearly forgotten. Since then efforts to address the shortcomings in the system and the inequities of healthcare delivery have languished in a confused Congress, torn between the lobbying efforts of corporate America, the pharmaceutical industry, Medicare and Medicaid proponents and the insurance industry.
Because Washington has been ineffective at taking on this complex issue, various states, communities, hospitals and corporations have taken it upon themselves to move the debate forward. They have done this through action rather than words. Massachusetts and California have proposed sweeping changes to their own state healthcare programs in an effort to make healthcare reachable and affordable to all. Employers working directly with local hospitals and the insurance industry have initiated programs to improve the level of care and reduce the overall cost. Unfortunately, 46 million Americans remain uninsured.
Many would disagree with the President’s plan as outlined in his State of the Union Address. However, as a self-serving tax payer who buys his own family health insurance, the President’s $15,000 deduction sounds pretty good – but this doesn’t do much for the neediest among us. Most people agree that the employer sponsored health system we have in the United States is one of the root causes of runaway healthcare costs. There are surely other reasons as well (let’s not go down the liability trail). While you may disagree with the Bush Administration plan details, the overall sentiment is correct – provide a link between the cost of the healthcare and the decision to use it. Today, corporate America is paying for the service and the employees are using it; there is no market governor or competition for cost performance. It is this dysfunction that is catalyzing employers and insurance companies into action.
While many Democrats have declared the plan DOA, it would be far better if they took up the challenge to have a meaningful debate about the merits and shortcomings of the plan and worked towards a solution. It may be in their best interests to keep it alive until 2008 so they can use it to gain the White House. While they game the issue, 46 million people wait for a decision. Washington will surely catch up with their constituents at some point.
