MASS TURNOUT AT HEALTH CARE REFORM RALLY TOPS 5,000. DELIVERS MESSAGE OF HEALTH CARE NOW, FOR ALL AMERICANS

Over 5,000 union members, community activists, health care professionals, small business owners, and Congressional leaders rallied at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, June 25, 2009. The resounding message of the rally was that comprehensive health care reform cannot wait any longer. The rally kicked off at 11:30 a.m. in Upper Senate Park, marking the beginning of the largest health care rally in our nation’s history.

The national labor movement was vital to generating such an enormous turnout, sponsoring over 120 buses and transporting 4,000 union members from across the country to the rally. Furthermore, in New Jersey alone, over 26 buses made their way to the Capitol, accounting for a total of over 1,300 union attendees.

As the rally got underway, workers and health care professionals addressed the crowd and shared their stories illustrating the need for health care reform. The words of these brave spokespeople were powerful and compelling and revealed the heartbreak and pain associated with a broken health care system.

Following the main rally, a joint rally organized by New Jersey, New York, and Maryland was held featuring Senators Robert Menendez, Frank Lautenberg, Charles Schumer, and Barbara Mikulski, plus Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Charles Rangel. The three-state rally gave a chance for union members to hear from key Congressional leaders that are playing major roles in the health care debate. Additionally, the opportunity was taken to congratulate these members of Congress on their leadership and to urge them to continue fighting for strong legislation that will bring down costs and provide quality care to all.

We have a tremendous opportunity to enact health care reform, and on June 25, 2009 we proved that the New Jersey's working familes allied with Health Care for America Now (HCAN) have the capacity and drive to get the job done.

CLICK HERE to see pictures from the health care rally.

WHAT THE UNINSURED ARE COSTING US

One of the most compelling arguments for health care reform goes like this: “By covering more people, we can also lower health care costs at the same time.” In other words, we can make health care more affordable for everyone if we can cover the 46 million Americans that currently lack insurance.

In economic terms, this makes sense because by insuring more people, risk is spread out amongst a larger pool. This means that more people will share the cost of medical care in the U.S. reducing any one individual’s or family’s contribution. Not to mention that covering the 46 million uninsured will mean that more people are getting the kind of care that will allow them to live a healthy lifestyle and avoid winding up in the emergency room for a condition that could have been prevented by a routine checkup.

Right now, when an uninsured patient is treated in the emergency room and cannot afford to pay his or her medical fees, the expenses they incur are passed onto those with insurance in the form of higher premiums and co-payments. In 2009, this hidden health care tax amounted to an additional payment of $1,017 for a family policy and $368 for an individual. Furthermore, companies that provide their employees with health care have seen health care costs increase and as a result seek larger employee contributions to health care and more contractual concessions.

The pattern here is obvious. Health care costs are increasing due to the growing number of uninsured. As costs go up, more and more families will be unable to afford coverage leaving the insured to absorb an even higher cost burden. Those with insurance that have seen their premiums go up, may as a result no longer be able to afford health care, thus contributing to the growing number of uninsured and higher health care costs.

The study conducted by Families USA which highlighted the hidden health care tax also reported on the total financial burden of the uninsured in the health care market. The study said that the uninsured who sought treatment in 2008 received about $116 billion in care. On average, the uninsured paid more than 37 percent of their health care costs themselves; government programs and charities paid for another 26 percent; and an estimated $42.7 billion in health care costs were unpaid in 2008. Those costs were shifted to private insurers in the form of higher charges for health services and these charges were passed on to families and businesses in the form of higher premiums and co-payments.  

Higher costs will mean that more people are unable to afford insurance. This trend is unsustainable and will ultimately lead to working families being priced out of the health insurance market. It has reached a point where even a successful business can no longer sustain a viable health care program for its employees. Reform must include covering the uninsured, since this is essential to lowering costs both in the short and long term.

OBAMA REINFORCES TIMELINE FOR REFORM – SUPPORTS PUBLIC OPTION

President Obama met with key members of Congress on Tuesday, June 2, 2009, to outline his expectations in moving forward with health care reform. Obama began by affirming his strong support for a government-sponsored health insurance plan, which would offer consumers a choice between their existing insurance options (as provided by private companies) and a government-sponsored health insurance option.

Obama’s support of the public option underlines an already divisive topic on Capitol Hill, but many health care advocates believe that the public option will be necessary to driving down costs and restoring competition to a health insurance market currently dominated by very few players. Additionally, the incorporation of a public option is one of the best ways to cover the millions of Americans that are without insurance.

That same day, President Obama also set forth a timeline calling on Congress to have a health care reform bill prepared for his signature by October. Accordingly, the Senate and House plan to pass their respective versions of a health care bill before the August recess. Then in September a conference will be held to negotiate and finalize a single health care reform bill for the President’s approval.

CLICK HERE to read Obama’s statements as they appear in a letter to Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT).

TRIGGER PROPOSAL UNDERMINE EFFORT FOR A PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION

As predicted, the public insurance option has sparked some of the most heated debate on health care reform to date. Current ideas for a public option include an expansion of Medicare; the Schumer plan; and at the other end of the spectrum, the so-called “trigger” proposal.

• Medicare Expansion: Medicare is a government-run social program that provides health insurance coverage to people ages 65 and older. One idea in Congress for a public insurance option is to take the current Medicare system and use it to offer coverage to people of all ages. This expansion of Medicare would create strong competition between public and private insurance companies in the health care market, and as a result many private insurers oppose the idea. However, a major advantage of using Medicare as a base for the public option would be low administrative costs and high efficiency. Medicare is a single-payer system, and therefore, payments to doctors, hospitals, and health care providers are made from a single fund. By keeping the payment method simple and by expanding an already existing system, it is possible for reform to be both cheaper and have a higher potential for savings.

• The Schumer Plan: To alleviate the concern that private insurers have about competing with government-run insurance, Senator Schumer (D-NY) has devised a plan that would ensure a level playing field between public and private insurance providers. In short, the Schumer’s Plan states that the public insurance system must be self sustaining; have optional participation from health care providers; and have the same pay rates for medical services as private insurers. (For a more detailed description of the Schumer Plan, please see the article below titled “Senate Finance Committee Pushes for Consensus on Public Insurance Option”). Although this plan allows for moderate competition, it has a few drawbacks. By introducing a whole new set of regulations, the Schumer Plan might result in inefficiencies and be less likely to develop the type savings of a Medicare-type system could deliver. On the other hand, the Schumer Plan is beneficial since it provides the best opportunity for a bipartisan compromise.

• Trigger Proposal: Those who reject the public option outright are now advocating for a measure called the trigger proposal. This plan would delay the activation of a public insurance option until certain conditions are met. In other words, the public option would be triggered once premiums rise beyond a certain threshold or the number of uninsured increases to a determined point. The idea of introducing a public option after the American health care system deteriorates further is unacceptable. Working families are fighting everyday to make ends meet and cannot afford to wait for things to get worse before they get better. Basically, the trigger proposal is designed to inhibit health care reform and delay the implementation of a public insurance option which would hold private insurers accountable for providing quality affordable health care. The conditions triggering health care reform have already been met and the implementation of a public insurance option must not be delayed.

In light of these three plans, there is an obvious potential for continued debate over the public option. However, if health care reform is to be successful, the public option must go into effect immediately. A delay of the public option would further aggravate our health care system and perpetuate the problems hardworking Americans continue to face when trying to obtain quality health care for themselves and their family.

SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE PUSHES FOR CONSENSUS ON PUBLIC INSURANCE OPTION

When it comes to incorporating a public health insurance option into health care reform, competition is the big issue.

As the debate heats up in Congress, some lawmakers are voicing their opposition to a public insurance option because they believe that private insurance providers would be at a disadvantage if they had to compete with a government run public insurance plan.

However, the real concern for private insurance companies is not one of sustainability, it is one of profits. A public plan would foster competition between public and private insurance providers driving costs down and quality up. In order for private insurance to keep up with this evolving market they would have to adjust their business model and accept that they may no longer be able to sustain the same record profits they have seen year after year. In other words, private insurers would not be driven out of the health care market with the institution of a public plan. Instead, they would simply have to adjust to a more competitive marketplace even if it means the possibility of lower profits.

For example, a government run insurance plan would not have to fund corporate perks and golden parachutes and would therefore be able to charge consumers less for coverage. In order for private insurers to compete with this plan, they would need to be more prudent with their compensation practices and make patient coverage their priority rather than executive salaries.

In our American health care system, quality patient care and affordable family coverage must be the main focus.

By creating a public insurance option, we can restore competition in the health insurance market allowing families to get the care they deserve at a price they can afford. And when opponents to the public health option claim that competition would be a threat to the insurance industry, they miss the point completely – that in fact, it is a lack of competition in the health care market which has led to runaway health care costs, larger premiums, and higher co-pays.

So how is it possible to resolve conflicting interests over the public insurance option? To begin, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), in cooperation with many proponents for health care reform, has devised a framework for a public insurance option which reflects a bipartisan approach. Understanding that some critics of the public insurance option feel that a public option might drive private insurers out of the market, Senator Schumer has proposed a system that would level the playing field between public and private insurance providers.

Senator Schumer’s plan establishes that any public insurance plan must adhere to the following principles:

• The public plan must be self sustaining generating its useable resources from premiums and co-payments.
• A public plan would not be allowed to receive tax revenue or appropriations from the government.
• Equal payment rates for medical services will be established for both public and private insurers. In other words the public plan will not be like Medicare which pays doctors and hospitals less than private insurers pay.
• The government should not compel doctors and hospitals to participate in a public plan just because they participate in Medicare.
• To prevent the government from serving as both “player and umpire,” the officials who manage a public plan must be different from those who regulate the insurance market.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who serves on the Senate Finance Committee with Senator Schumer and is an outspoken critic of the public option, said that Republicans were open to considering a public plan as an option, as long as it operated under the same rules as private plans. Therefore, it is apparent that Senator Schumer’s plan, which establishes a level playing field for public and private insurers, will be essential to building bipartisan support for the public option.

As the debate over health care reform continues, this type of joint effort and willingness to find a common ground will determine whether or not, at the end of the day, working families can get the quality affordable care they deserve.

CLICK HERE to link to the Senate Finance Committee website.

CONGRESSIONAL ACTION UPDATE - 5/18/09

                       Senate

This week the Senate Finance Committee will hold a final closed-door discussion to consider options for financing health care reform. The committee will begin writing their version of a health care bill after the weeklong Memorial Day recess.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will work this week to draft a bill on federal health policy.

Each committee plans to review one another’s bills in June and will prepare a single version to be debated on the Senate floor in July.

                       House

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will begin drafting its version of a health care bill following the Memorial Day Recess.

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set forth a timeline calling for a health care bill to be through the committee review process in June and ready for debate on the House floor in July.

 

                              White House

 

President Obama supports a health care bill that focuses on bipartisan solutions. He has gone as far as to say that he would rather have a bipartisan bill with some concessions than a partisan bill with no concessions. The writing of health care legislation is left up to the Congress, but President Obama will continue to work with House and Senate leaders during the spring and summer months as lawmakers work to pass and ultimately merge their respective versions of health care legislation.

 

 

HEALTH CARE REFORM ON TRACK AFTER HOUSE AND SENATE PASS 2010 BUDGET

The prospect for health care reform received a major boost after the House and Senate passed the budget for the 2010 fiscal year on Wednesday, April 29th. This budget resolution serves as a blueprint outlining some of the major policy goals which the Congress will undertake this year, such as health care reform, energy investment, in addition to others.

Essentially, passage of this budget gives Congress the key resources they will need to enact comprehensive health care reform in the coming months. Although proponents of reform have a lot to celebrate, it’s important to understand that health care reform still faces many challenges. Our efforts will not succeed unless we create a sustainable system that can generate enough savings to offset the high cost of our initial investment. Furthermore, Congress will be working on a very short timeline and in an environment of many competing interests.

 

To alleviate the issue of competing interests, we must work collaboratively and rally behind a system that reflects our core values. As far as finance, we can generate savings by incorporating a public insurance option into our plan for reform. A public option would foster competition with insurance companies driving prices down and quality up.

 

A last point to note about the FY 2010 budget is that it includes a “reconciliation instruction” for health care. That means the Democrats can pass health care reform with just 51 votes, instead of the 60 it takes to break a filibuster. The reconciliation instruction takes effect on October 15, 2009. In other words, the House and Senate each have until that day to pass health care legislation. If they haven’t, then both houses will consider health care under the reconciliation process, which is relevant primarily for the way it affects the Senate. There will be a limit on the time of debate preventing a possible filibuster. 

CLICK HERE for an online version of the FY 2010 budget as prepared by the Office of Management and Budget.

 

 WORKING 4 NEW JERSEY'S WORKING FAMILIES

The New Jersey Partnership for Working Families is a coalition consisting of over 60 labor, religious, civic, minority, academic, women, and community organizations that advocates in support of quality affordable health care for all Americans.

Operating through the national coalition group Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the New Jersey Partnership for Working Families will bolster support for health care reform in New Jersey as a part of a national movement to pass comprehensive reform.

What can you do to help the New Jersey Partnership for Working Families?

Individuals: Sign the Pledge Form at the right of this page

If you are involved in an organization, and your organization would like to join the coalition, Click the "Organizations" tab at the upper right of this page and fill in your details