Choosing between food and medicine
Choosing between food and medicine
September 9, 2009
By: Diana DeGette
As the debate over health insurance reform intensifies across the country, 47 million people — roughly 800,000 Coloradans — are living without health coverage.
Choosing between food and medicine
September 9, 2009
By: Diana DeGette
As the debate over health insurance reform intensifies across thecountry, 47 million people — roughly 800,000 Coloradans — are livingwithout health coverage.
Each day, people are forced to choose between groceries and health care, a no-win situation that jeopardizes many of the freedoms we cherish. The United States is the only industrialized nation that fails to guarantee health care for all our citizens, and the result is a health care system that is untenable not only morally, but also financially.
Each year, millions of uninsured Americans are left with no option but to seek treatment in the emergency room — a significant reason health care premiums are increasing for all of us. The hidden tax of covering these citizens is $100 billion per year.
Middle-class families currently spend over $1,000 annually on average to subsidize care for the uninsured. Combine this with the ever-escalating cost of premiums and co-payments, and within 10 years, Americans will spend $1 out of every $5 they earn on health care. By 2030, it will be $1 out of every $3.
In addition, our current system falls below 36 other countries in outcomes, according to the World Health Organization. Ethically and financially, the cost of inaction is simply too great.
Legislation being considered by Congress will build upon what our system does well while reforming the parts that are simply not working. Reform is intended to provide affordable, quality health insurance options to millions of Americans. It will offer security and stability to millions who desperately need it.
The heart of the plan is a health insurance exchange that allows individuals and small businesses to join in a health care marketplace, distributing risk and reducing costs. It will provide a cost-effective option for small businesses looking to offer their employees health coverage, but who cannot afford to purchase it at current rates.
It also will lower costs for the millions of individuals whose income falls above the Medicaid eligibility cut-off, but for whom escalating premiums have rendered private coverage unaffordable. A health insurance exchange will provide a transparent marketplace where public and private insurance plans will be forced to compete on a level playing field.
The key to reform is competition — including a public insurance option that is central to bringing down rising costs. Right now, 53 percent of Colorado's health insurance coverage is provided by only two insurers. The public option, offered within the exchange, will provide an additional source of competition, thereby driving costs down.
However, the public option is not subsidized by the government — it would be funded only by its own premiums. It will provide a basic level of care without the profit margins that have crippled our current system. It will not replace private industry; rather, it will simply provide Americans with another choice. Bottom line, if you like the health insurance you already have, you can keep it.
The Obama administration has outlined principles that should be a part of reform; the House plan adheres to them. It eliminates denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and it removes gender inequity from the health insurance equation.
Failure to reform our health care system would be catastrophic. This bill will provide 95 percent of Americans with access to health care, ensuring their ability to get care. It will provide Americans with the liberty to choose their own best recourse for treatment without a bureaucrat or an insurance agent standing in the way. It will keep us all from having to choose between medicine for a sick child and groceries for our families.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette represents the 1st Congressional District of Colorado.