Many people have developed detailed diagnoses of what ails America’s healthcare system as well as reform efforts now underway. A large percentage of these people in Washington, on television and with websites pontificate at great length.
But one thing you never hear: a simple description of healthcare plans before Congress and what effect they will have on folks like us. Sure, people get all fired up explaining how coming changes will tax our kids to death and kill our grandparents (when denied needed medications), but that dialogue is more for public entertainment than education.
Here we want to know what a healthcare plan means to the average guy working for a small business or to someone self-employed. Not the political rhetoric, thank you, just a simple explanation of if there will be other plans available that might replace private insurers for small businesses, how the government plan intends to limit out-of-cost healthcare expenses for all of us, and how much the whole thing is gonna cost.
We know someone out there is saying, “Read the damn thing and figure it out for yourself.” But that’s not so easy. The senate version started at 615 pages. That was a preliminary draft with amendments and compromises expected.
So it’s the size of an encyclopedia (and reads nothing like a John Grisham novel) with much of the wording subject to interpretation, given how it’s applied. Skimming an online version of the senate bill, you’re still left with the same question: What does this mean to me?
Even on the Internet, it’s hard to find simple explanations. There are feel-good descriptions by supporters of healthcare reform, citing its coverage for all, its limits on costs, its improvements to care and treatment, but how will it do this? Please, someone, explain. The suspense is killing us. Inquiring minds want to know.
Political speechifying and horse race coverage (“Will it pass or won’t it?”) is on the Internet by the gigaflop. But nuts and bolts of the healthcare plan are hard to come by.
Even with substantial reports on well-established media, you’re more likely to learn what a political group thinks about it than what the plan would do in plain language.
And that’s a shame. It seems all parties agree change for America’s healthcare must come. As the plan tossed up by Democrats meets mighty opposition from fiscally conservative Democrats and Republicans, even the most vocal critics preface their statements by saying they understand reform is needed. It’s just President Obama’s plan they don’t like.
State Senator Chip Pearson, well known critic of big government and spending, said in a speech before our local chamber of commerce, that for the sake of businesses, a workable healthcare plan should be a top priority for Georgia.
The case for some type of change is clear just looking at the numbers.
Consider:
• The United States spent approximately $2.2 trillion on healthcare in 2007, or $7,421 per person – nearly twice the average of other developed nations.
• Nationwide, healthcare costs consume 18 percent of our gross domestic product.
• 45 million Americans have no insurance.
• More than 160 million workers and family members now get health insurance through an employer. But this is dragging down small businesses and large, who find offering the benefit is sinking the bottom line. General Motors noted this as a prime source of its collapse, and small businesses are routinely scaling back coverage.
• On the individual level, as pundits argue that reform will hurt our ability to be treated, many middle class families are already without adequate treatment, unable to afford a trip to the doctor. The AARP, American Cancer Society and American Heart Association all have voiced support for reform, citing healthcare costs as a paramount issue.
Congressional leaders say they want something ready for a vote by August. It doesn’t take a political expert to realize that’s a pretty scary objective if you want reform done right. But in some form or fashion, it’s time to find common ground and move forward.
Otherwise the prognosis will move from bad to worse. |
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