Jack Bernard: Insurance Company Greed Stopping Universal Medicare

To the Editor:

A physician friend recently said to me “once every 15 years, health care reform comes around. If we do not succeed this time, we will have to wait another 15 years”. Unfortunately, he is right and that is why the current situation concerns me and demands action.

In early 2009, with the public obviously ready for real lasting change, Obama and the Democratic majority had the opportunity of a life-time. What could be done to get us on the right path to have affordable, high quality health care for our citizens?

The solution was (and still is) straightforward: expand Medicare to cover all, Obama’s real preference. From a policy viewpoint, with Universal Medicare all costs can be controlled and complete access assured. Medicare has overhead expenses of about 3%, which is one-tenth of the administrative, marketing and other overhead costs of private insurers. Under Universal Medicare, the savings can be spent reimbursing doctors and other providers for direct care, taking care of sick people, versus buying second homes for insurance company CEOs who are making millions of dollars each year in bonuses, stock options and ridiculous salaries.

Further, Medicare must be responsive to the voters because it is a publically funded program, authorized by our elected representatives. Who elects the CEOs of health insurance companies? What real power does the individual policy holder have when he or she is denied a claim (otherwise known as rationing)? Medicare is one of the few programs that the taxpayers enthusiastically support. It is hard to attack a program almost everyone (Republicans, Independents and Democrats) understands and generally likes. In other words, if it is good enough for Granny, then it should be good enough for me. Now, that is a political slogan that Joe Sixpack can get behind.

But, that is not what happened. Somewhere along the way, the advisors to the President forgot one basic lesson: keep it simple stupid. Propose something the public can understand so they can pressure the Senators who are in the pocket of the insurance industry. You would think after the Clinton debacle in the 1990s that this lesson would be an easy one to remember.

The taxpayer does not comprehend what exactly is currently being proposed and/or what it will accomplish for them or the nation. Americans are subjected to weird frantic emails purporting to analyze “THE OBAMACARE BILL”, although there is as yet no such bill, just the President’s vague wish list contained in his address to Congress. Amazingly, many people (especially in rural areas like mine) believe these fabrications because they have been so widely circulated and the Administration still does not have a bill of its own to defend. A campaign of disinformation directly or indirectly funded by insurance companies and other greedy, self-interested parties is effectively confusing our citizens. The backlash is causing frightened Congressmen, particularly those in vulnerable conservative districts and States, to backtrack. Plus, we have key Senators (like Baucus who received $3 million from health/insurance interests) who can hardly be considered objective given their ties to lobbyists.

If nothing changes, we will likely end up with a health care bill, simply due to the political cost of inaction. But it will be a horse put together by a Committee, an ineffective political camel which will neither control costs (the top concern of most Americans) or provide insurance access for all (American’s second most important concern). The Baucus proposal is a good example. And we will all lose.

A single payer program covering all Americans can still be passed. It is time for us to stand up for what is right…and that is Universal Medicare. Remember, the same individuals who send out emails saying that the government cannot effectively run anything, fully support our military, the strongest in the world. How many Tea Party protestors want to privatize our soldiers, putting them on Blackwater’s payroll? The same people who send out the emails complaining of the $1 trillion cost of health care reform had no trouble supporting spending $1-2 trillion (CBO estimates) on the Iraq war. The facts are on our side if we will just stand firm and communicate them.

There are members of the House and Senate who are trying to move us in the correct direction. They are backing two single payer bills: SB 703 and HR 676. If the public will put pressure on others, they may also come around, even Baucus. At least we can get a public option to start the momentum towards Universal Medicare, the goal. If not, see you in 15 years.

Jack Bernard, CEO
Monticello Health Care Solutions
706-468-0662
Monticello, GA