Congress Gets a Shot in the Arm

It would seem that the United States Congress is getting themselves mobilized to make an impact on health care. How much of these efforts end up being substantive and how many ephemeral is a question answerable only by the passage of time.

Ben Bernanke's recent statements about health care taking up a quarter of the federal budget were only one facet of the mobilization beginning on several fronts within those hallowed halls.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) are sponsoring the first bipartisan proposal for universal coverage to come out of the Senate. The proposal would scrap employer-based health insurance replacing it with a state-run system where insurance companies are mandated to offer basic coverage to all applicants and compelling those not covered by employer-based plans to buy in.

Tom Daschle has just released a new book in which he argues in favor of a Federal Health Board similar in structure to the Federal Reserve. This probably will be one of the thrusts of the legislation he is currently working on along with fellow Democrat George Mitchell and Republicans Bob Dole and Howard Baker. The four former Senate Majority Leaders plan to introduce their legislation in November. (For an in-depth interview about the book and Sen. Daschle's stance on health care take a look at the interview that he did with Ezra Klein for the American Prospect.)

Via The Washington Post:

"We have a broad consensus that we aren't getting nearly as much as we should for the money," said Mark B. McClellan, President Bush's former director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who now heads the new Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings. "There's an unprecedented level of agreement that something can be done and that something must be done."

Let us keep our fingers crossed and our eyes open.

SOURCE: "Writing New Prescriptions For Change" 06/17/08
photo courtesy of yanivba, used under its Creative Commmons license

Critical Condition: Tom Daschle Speaks Out on American Health Care

On the AFL/CIO's Blog is a very interesting piece about former Democratic Senator Tom Daschle who was a speaker on March 5 at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.

At $2 trillion per year, the United States has the most expensive health care system in the world (16% of our economy and rising), but the results it produces are poor when compared to other nations.

Although Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) claimed on Tuesday night that the United States has “the world’s best medical care,” Daschle said that what we actually have are “islands of excellence in a sea of mediocrity,” with the highest-quality options for those who can afford it and inadequate or inconsistent service for millions more.

Daschle critiqued the myths and outright lies spread by opponents of health care reform. Among them, that any change to the system would be “socialized medicine,” which Daschle says creates a false choice. Opponents also claim we “can’t afford” reform, even though the flaws in the system are raising costs.

Among the other topics Daschle addressed were the following:

1. Reform would require "rationing." According to the former Senator, the differences in quality of care, access to care, and a pattern of claims denials under the current system already creates "the worst kind of rationing."


2. The desperate need for true leadership on the issue, especially from the President's office. To illustrate, he referred to the recent Presidential veto of SCHIP by President Bush.


3. The McCain approach, which he refers to as "cost shifting" without any real tangible gains.

All in all, the Senator's views continually stress effective political leadership as the key element needed to enact true and lasting reform. Take a look at what he has to say and let us know your opinion.

SOURCE: "Daschle: America’s Health Care System in Critical Condition" 03/06/08
photo courtesy of NARA/EPA via pingnews, used under this Creative Commons license