PNHP

Dr. Margaret Flowers on The Ed Show

Most M.D.'s, citizens favor single-payer system

Richard Curtin, M.D.
Guest Opinion
Fort Meyers News-Press
May 7, 2009

This is in response to recent letters to the editor, which contain a number of points of misinformation regarding Medicare.

Medicare is not an example of socialized medicine, since the providers of care are not employed by the government.

The businesses are already shedding their health care insurance for employees as fast as they can and as the unemployed numbers increase, the numbers of people with health insurance will increase dramatically, already over 48 million.

The primary reason emergency rooms are filled with people is because of the people without health insurance usually cannot get care anywhere else.

Studies have shown that very little of the increase is caused by illegal immigrants since they avoid going there if at all possible.

Texas introduced caps on malpractice awards and it did little to change the rates of malpractice insurance premiums.

Total costs for medical care are approximately $8,000 per person in this country. Countries with single payer insurance usually pay about half of that. Our total costs are the highest in the industrialized the world.

By objective measurements of health care, we do not have the best care in the world. Yes, we have some of the best care but we rank about 37th in infant mortality, maternal mortality and have a lower longevity than many.

Medicare in this country allows free choice of physician, unless you join a Medicare Advantage plan run by an insurance company and then the plan may limit your choice.

I have met no one with Medicare who has chosen to give up Medicare to get their insurance in the private market.

Yes, it needs some improvement but is far superior to being without insurance or trying to pay thousands of dollars or not be able to get insurance otherwise.

A majority of physicians as well as a majority of citizens favor a single payer health care system on the basis of recent polls.

The Institute of Medicine estimates that about 20,000 people die each year in this country due to lack of health insurance.

In no other industrialized country can you lose you home, go bankrupt or die because you don’t have adequate health insurance.

About 50 percent of bankruptcies are due to medical bills.

Richard Curtin, M.D., resides in Fort Myers.

Why we risked arrest for single-payer health care

By Margaret Flowers, M.D.
May 8, 2009

On May 5, eight health care advocates, including myself and two other physicians, stood up to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the Senate Finance Committee during a “public roundtable discussion” with a simple question: Will you allow an advocate for a single-payer national health plan to have a seat at the table?

The answer was a loud, “Get more police!” And we were arrested and hauled off to jail.

The fact that a national health insurance program is supported by the majority of the public, doctors and nurses apparently means nothing to Sen. Baucus. The fact that thousands of people in America are dying every year because they can’t get health care means nothing. The fact that over 1 million Americans go into bankruptcy every year due to medical debt — even though most of them had insurance when they got sick — means nothing.

And so, as the May 5 meeting approached, we prepared for another one of the highly scripted, well-protected events that are supposed to make up the “health care debate” using standard tools of advocacy. We organized call-in days and faxes to the members of the committee requesting the presence of one single-payer advocate at the table of 15. Despite thousands of calls and faxes, the only reply — received on the day before the event — was, “Sorry, but no more invitations will be issued.”

We knew that this couldn’t be correct. We had heard Sen. Baucus say on that very same day that “all options were on the table.” And so, the next day, we donned our suits and traveled to Washington. We had many knowledgeable single-payer advocates in our group. And as the meeting started, one of us, Mr. Russell Mokhiber, stood up to say that we were here and we were ready to take a seat. And he was promptly removed from the room.

In that moment, it all became so clear. We could write letters, phone staffers, and fax until the machines fell apart, but we would never get our seat at the table.

The senators understand that most people want a national health system and that an improved Medicare for All would include everybody and provide better health care at a lower cost. These facts mean nothing to most of them because they respond to only one standard tool of advocacy: money, and lots of it.

The people seated at the table represented the corporate interests: private health insurers and big business and those who support their agenda. The people whose voices were heard all represented organizations which pay huge sums of money to political campaigns. These interests profit greatly from the current health care industry and do not want changes that will hurt their large, personal pocketbooks.

And so, we have entered a new phase in the movement for health care as a human right: acts of civil disobedience. It is time to directly challenge corporate interests. History has shown that in order to gain human rights, we must be willing to speak out and risk arrest. We must engage in actions that expose corporate fraud and corruption. We must make our presence known.

And that is why the eight of us, knowledgeable health care advocates and providers, most of us parents, some of us grandparents, spoke out one-by-one at the Senate Finance Committee. And it is why we will continue to speak out and encourage others to do the same. Our voices must be strong enough to drown out the influence of corporate dollars.

Health care must become the civil rights movement of this decade. The opportunity is here. And we can create a single-payer national health care system.

Yes, we can.

Dr. Margaret Flowers is a pediatrician in Baltimore and co-chair of the Maryland chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP). Her statement was co-signed by Mark Dudzic, Labor Campaign for Single Payer; Russell Mokhiber, Single Payer Action; Carol Paris, M.D., PNHP; Katie Robbins, Healthcare-NOW!; Pat Salomon, M.D., PNHP; Adam Schneider, B’more Housing for All; and Kevin Zeese, ProsperityAgenda.us.

Most M.D.’s, citizens favor single-payer system

Richard Curtin, M.D.
Guest Opinion
Fort Meyers News-Press
May 7, 2009

This is in response to recent letters to the editor, which contain a number of points of misinformation regarding Medicare.

Medicare is not an example of socialized medicine, since the providers of care are not employed by the government.

The businesses are already shedding their health care insurance for employees as fast as they can and as the unemployed numbers increase, the numbers of people with health insurance will increase dramatically, already over 48 million.

The primary reason emergency rooms are filled with people is because of the people without health insurance usually cannot get care anywhere else.

Studies have shown that very little of the increase is caused by illegal immigrants since they avoid going there if at all possible.

Texas introduced caps on malpractice awards and it did little to change the rates of malpractice insurance premiums.

Total costs for medical care are approximately $8,000 per person in this country. Countries with single payer insurance usually pay about half of that. Our total costs are the highest in the industrialized the world.

By objective measurements of health care, we do not have the best care in the world. Yes, we have some of the best care but we rank about 37th in infant mortality, maternal mortality and have a lower longevity than many.

Medicare in this country allows free choice of physician, unless you join a Medicare Advantage plan run by an insurance company and then the plan may limit your choice.

I have met no one with Medicare who has chosen to give up Medicare to get their insurance in the private market.

Yes, it needs some improvement but is far superior to being without insurance or trying to pay thousands of dollars or not be able to get insurance otherwise.

A majority of physicians as well as a majority of citizens favor a single payer health care system on the basis of recent polls.

The Institute of Medicine estimates that about 20,000 people die each year in this country due to lack of health insurance.

In no other industrialized country can you lose you home, go bankrupt or die because you don’t have adequate health insurance.

About 50 percent of bankruptcies are due to medical bills.

Richard Curtin, M.D., resides in Fort Myers.

Calling All Single Payer Supporters

If you have not already heard, THIS FRIDAY – MAY 8 – there is a TON of action being planned around the country, online, and on the street to urge Congress to put single payer on the table – pass HR676, S703, et al.

In light of the arrest this week of 8 activists including several doctors during the Senate Finance Committee’s healthcare reform “Roundtable,” this call to action is even more important.

Easy events anybody can participate in –

1. “Follow Friday:” If you’re on twitter, you should “tweet” single payer tweets until “single payer” gets onto Twitter.com’s “trending topics” board. Sign up for Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com and start by following “singlepayer”.

2. www.1payer.net has launched a “fax them ’til they drop’ campaign: http://1payer.net/campaigns/finance-committee.html to members of the Senate Finance Committee (See email sent earlier today)

3. Watch the footage from BOTH CSPAN and 1Payer of the arrests and what went on at the Senate this week: http://www.singlepayercentral.com

4. There is a “teach-in” this weekend in San Francisco (http://www.singlepayernow.net) and you can find lots more at the California Facebook group on single payer and SB810: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19429248399&ref=nf

5. Everyday we’re calling (1) Senator Baucus re: his shutting out single payer and (2) the media who continue to refuse to cover these events (For example, NPR today, when asked why Bristol Palin and the tea parties got coverage but not the arrests of the MDs at the Senate, responded “I guess we didn’t think it [the arrests] were newsworthy”).

Baucus: (202) 224-2651

Find Media phone #s: http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=111 Call and demand that they cover single payer issues.

NOW IS OUR MOMENT – President Obama said on March 5th, “In this [health reform] effort, every voice has to be heard. Every idea must be considered. Every option must be on the table. There should be no sacred cows.” LET”S HOLD HIM TO HIS WORD!!

Check Healthcare Activists at SinglePayerCentral.com (online 24/7 news updated hourly and resource clearinghouse for the single payer movement)

http://www.singlepayercentral.com
Facebook – California Universal Healthcare Act – SB810

Twitter – singlepayer

Originally from Floridians for Health Care

Frank Luntz's "The Language of Healthcare 2009"

THE LANGUAGE OF HEALTHCARE 2009

By Dr. Frank I. Luntz
This document is based on polling results and Instant Response dial sessions conducted in April 2009. It captures not just what Americans want to see but exactly what they want to hear. The Words That Work boxes that follow are already being used by a few Congressional and Senatorial Republicans. From today forward, they should be used by everyone.
You simply MUST be vocally and passionately on the side of reform. The status quo is no longer acceptable. If the dynamic becomes “President Obama is on the side of reform and Republicans are against it,” then the battle is lost and every word in this document is useless. Republicans must be for the right kind of reform that protects the quality of healthcare for all Americans. And you must establish your support of reform early in your presentation.
THE 10 RULES FOR STOPPING THE “WASHINGTON TAKEOVER” OF HEALTHCARE
(1) Humanize your approach.
(2) Acknowledge the “crisis” or suffer the consequences.
(3) “Time” is the government healthcare killer.
(4) The arguments against the Democrats’ healthcare plan must center around “politicians,” “bureaucrats,” and “Washington” … not the free market, tax incentives, or competition.
(5) The healthcare denial horror stories from Canada & Co. do resonate, but you have to humanize them.
(6) Healthcare quality = “getting the treatment you need, when you need it.”
7) “One-size-does-NOT-fit-all.”
(8) WASTE, FRAUD, and ABUSE are your best targets for how to bring down costs.
(9) Americans will expect the government to look out for those who truly can’t afford healthcare.
(10) It’s not enough to just say what you’re against. You have to tell them what you’re for.
http://www.politico.com/static/PPM116_luntz.html

This is an important document. It is Frank Luntz’s recommendation to the Republican politicians on how to frame the debate over health care reform. If you have been listening to the Republicans speak on reform, you have already heard some of the rhetoric, and you will recognize it as you read this report.
This is not a report on health policy. If you read it as if it were a policy paper, you will likely become angered over the liberties that Luntz takes with policy concepts. You will recognize a great many distortions and, worse, many instances in which his statements are not supported by the facts (i.e., “lies” in common parlance).
This is a report on political framing of the debate. It is designed to provide Republicans with political rhetoric that theoretically would shift support to the Republican positions for reform, and away from the Democratic positions. As you read it, you will see that there is a very strong emphasis on the latter, and very little on the former since the Republicans have almost nothing to offer in the way of substantial reform.
A note of caution: As you read the report, you will tend to fall into the trap of responding based on their framing of the issues. Do not do that. Always address the issues within our own framing structure. When you identify rhetoric that is blatantly untrue, you will tend to say, “That’s a lie.” Such ’tis so/’tis not debates are never productive and tend to favor the smooth talkers (predominantly Republicans). Instead, respond with highly credible facts that use the framing from our own arena.
Another word about lies. You will see that Frank Luntz does not have an issue with this. What counts is a strong message that appears to be credible, regardless of whether or not it is. On our side, we must never lie, nor even distort our message. We have established unblemished credibility with our message, and we must never do anything that might impair that credibility. That makes our task more difficult because we must be very careful that anything we say is supported by sound health policy science. But it also makes the Republicans vulnerable since they tend to concentrate on sound bites that are not based on sound policies. That risks exposing them as charlatans; we can do that with our carefully framed messages.
Some parts of the report actually provide good advice not only for the Republicans, but for the Democrats as well. In fact, you will identify some recommendations that have been lifted from our camp. We can continue to use these, and we should not attack them when they use the same rhetoric. Only when they twist it unfairly should we counter with our rhetoric describing the beneficial impacts of our policies.
Look at this example from the report: “What Americans are looking for in healthcare that your ‘solution’ will provide is, in a word, more: ‘more access to more treatments and more doctors…with less interference from insurance companies and Washington politicians and special interests.'”
What Luntz left unsaid is that these are features that more closely describe the progressive position. Most of the Republican policies would make these worse. Again, you wouldn’t respond by saying, “That’s not true.” You would respond by providing accurate sound bites on how the single payer proposal provides improved access by eliminating financial barriers to care, and single payer would eliminate the private insurance industry so it could no longer interfere with your care.
Wait. Progressive? Single payer? Isn’t my comment supposed to be talking about the framing to be used the Democrats? Well, we have a problem here.
Look at another example from Luntz’s report: “We suggest ratcheting up the rhetoric against insurance companies to almost the same degree as you do against Washington bureaucracy. Call the Democratic plan a ‘bailout for the insurance industry’ — both because it is, and because it will build lasting credibility by going after the two things the American people hate most: Washington bureaucracy and insurer greed.”
Wow! Luntz is right! The Democratic plan IS a “bailout for the insurance industry.” In fact, the Democrats have lost all credibility on this one when they have AHIP’s Karen Ignagni front and center at every hearing, every forum, every summit, and her operatives providing input to the closed-door sessions, while they have excluded from the process those who most vigorously attack the insurance companies – the single payer advocates.
Read Luntz’s report. Be prepared to respond using our framing. Attack their credibility when they provide us with obvious openings.
What is sobering is that we have to use the truth to attack both the Republican and the Democratic politicians. And this was to have been our great opening to provide high quality care for everyone.
But don’t give up. The Democrats’ plan won’t work. They’ll still need us to fix our system when their failure becomes painfully obvious.

Frank Luntz's "The Language of Healthcare 2009"

THE LANGUAGE OF HEALTHCARE 2009

By Dr. Frank I. Luntz

This document is based on polling results and Instant Response dial sessions conducted in April 2009. It captures not just what Americans want to see but exactly what they want to hear. The Words That Work boxes that follow are already being used by a few Congressional and Senatorial Republicans. From today forward, they should be used by everyone.

You simply MUST be vocally and passionately on the side of reform. The status quo is no longer acceptable. If the dynamic becomes “President Obama is on the side of reform and Republicans are against it,” then the battle is lost and every word in this document is useless. Republicans must be for the right kind of reform that protects the quality of healthcare for all Americans. And you must establish your support of reform early in your presentation.

THE 10 RULES FOR STOPPING THE “WASHINGTON TAKEOVER” OF HEALTHCARE

(1) Humanize your approach.

(2) Acknowledge the “crisis” or suffer the consequences.

(3) “Time” is the government healthcare killer.

(4) The arguments against the Democrats’ healthcare plan must center around “politicians,” “bureaucrats,” and “Washington” … not the free market, tax incentives, or competition.

(5) The healthcare denial horror stories from Canada & Co. do resonate, but you have to humanize them.

(6) Healthcare quality = “getting the treatment you need, when you need it.”

7) “One-size-does-NOT-fit-all.”

(8) WASTE, FRAUD, and ABUSE are your best targets for how to bring down costs.

(9) Americans will expect the government to look out for those who truly can’t afford healthcare.

(10) It’s not enough to just say what you’re against. You have to tell them what you’re for.

http://www.politico.com/static/PPM116_luntz.html

Comment:

By Don McCanne, MD

This is an important document. It is Frank Luntz’s recommendation to the Republican politicians on how to frame the debate over health care reform. If you have been listening to the Republicans speak on reform, you have already heard some of the rhetoric, and you will recognize it as you read this report.

This is not a report on health policy. If you read it as if it were a policy paper, you will likely become angered over the liberties that Luntz takes with policy concepts. You will recognize a great many distortions and, worse, many instances in which his statements are not supported by the facts (i.e., “lies” in common parlance).

This is a report on political framing of the debate. It is designed to provide Republicans with political rhetoric that theoretically would shift support to the Republican positions for reform, and away from the Democratic positions. As you read it, you will see that there is a very strong emphasis on the latter, and very little on the former since the Republicans have almost nothing to offer in the way of substantial reform.

A note of caution: As you read the report, you will tend to fall into the trap of responding based on their framing of the issues. Do not do that. Always address the issues within our own framing structure. When you identify rhetoric that is blatantly untrue, you will tend to say, “That’s a lie.” Such ’tis so/’tis not debates are never productive and tend to favor the smooth talkers (predominantly Republicans). Instead, respond with highly credible facts that use the framing from our own arena.

Another word about lies. You will see that Frank Luntz does not have an issue with this. What counts is a strong message that appears to be credible, regardless of whether or not it is. On our side, we must never lie, nor even distort our message. We have established unblemished credibility with our message, and we must never do anything that might impair that credibility. That makes our task more difficult because we must be very careful that anything we say is supported by sound health policy science. But it also makes the Republicans vulnerable since they tend to concentrate on sound bites that are not based on sound policies. That risks exposing them as charlatans; we can do that with our carefully framed messages.

Some parts of the report actually provide good advice not only for the Republicans, but for the Democrats as well. In fact, you will identify some recommendations that have been lifted from our camp. We can continue to use these, and we should not attack them when they use the same rhetoric. Only when they twist it unfairly should we counter with our rhetoric describing the beneficial impacts of our policies.

Look at this example from the report: “What Americans are looking for in healthcare that your ‘solution’ will provide is, in a word, more: ‘more access to more treatments and more doctors…with less interference from insurance companies and Washington politicians and special interests.'”

What Luntz left unsaid is that these are features that more closely describe the progressive position. Most of the Republican policies would make these worse. Again, you wouldn’t respond by saying, “That’s not true.” You would respond by providing accurate sound bites on how the single payer proposal provides improved access by eliminating financial barriers to care, and single payer would eliminate the private insurance industry so it could no longer interfere with your care.

Wait. Progressive? Single payer? Isn’t my comment supposed to be talking about the framing to be used the Democrats? Well, we have a problem here.

Look at another example from Luntz’s report: “We suggest ratcheting up the rhetoric against insurance companies to almost the same degree as you do against Washington bureaucracy. Call the Democratic plan a ‘bailout for the insurance industry’ — both because it is, and because it will build lasting credibility by going after the two things the American people hate most: Washington bureaucracy and insurer greed.”

Wow! Luntz is right! The Democratic plan IS a “bailout for the insurance industry.” In fact, the Democrats have lost all credibility on this one when they have AHIP’s Karen Ignagni front and center at every hearing, every forum, every summit, and her operatives providing input to the closed-door sessions, while they have excluded from the process those who most vigorously attack the insurance companies – the single payer advocates.

Read Luntz’s report. Be prepared to respond using our framing. Attack their credibility when they provide us with obvious openings.

What is sobering is that we have to use the truth to attack both the Republican and the Democratic politicians. And this was to have been our great opening to provide high quality care for everyone.

But don’t give up. The Democrats’ plan won’t work. They’ll still need us to fix our system when their failure becomes painfully obvious.

Frank Luntz’s “The Language of Healthcare 2009”

THE LANGUAGE OF HEALTHCARE 2009

By Dr. Frank I. Luntz

This document is based on polling results and Instant Response dial sessions conducted in April 2009. It captures not just what Americans want to see but exactly what they want to hear. The Words That Work boxes that follow are already being used by a few Congressional and Senatorial Republicans. From today forward, they should be used by everyone.

You simply MUST be vocally and passionately on the side of reform. The status quo is no longer acceptable. If the dynamic becomes “President Obama is on the side of reform and Republicans are against it,” then the battle is lost and every word in this document is useless. Republicans must be for the right kind of reform that protects the quality of healthcare for all Americans. And you must establish your support of reform early in your presentation.

THE 10 RULES FOR STOPPING THE “WASHINGTON TAKEOVER” OF HEALTHCARE

(1) Humanize your approach.

(2) Acknowledge the “crisis” or suffer the consequences.

(3) “Time” is the government healthcare killer.

(4) The arguments against the Democrats’ healthcare plan must center around “politicians,” “bureaucrats,” and “Washington” … not the free market, tax incentives, or competition.

(5) The healthcare denial horror stories from Canada & Co. do resonate, but you have to humanize them.

(6) Healthcare quality = “getting the treatment you need, when you need it.”

7) “One-size-does-NOT-fit-all.”

(8) WASTE, FRAUD, and ABUSE are your best targets for how to bring down costs.

(9) Americans will expect the government to look out for those who truly can’t afford healthcare.

(10) It’s not enough to just say what you’re against. You have to tell them what you’re for.

http://www.politico.com/static/PPM116_luntz.html

Comment:

By Don McCanne, MD

This is an important document. It is Frank Luntz’s recommendation to the Republican politicians on how to frame the debate over health care reform. If you have been listening to the Republicans speak on reform, you have already heard some of the rhetoric, and you will recognize it as you read this report.

This is not a report on health policy. If you read it as if it were a policy paper, you will likely become angered over the liberties that Luntz takes with policy concepts. You will recognize a great many distortions and, worse, many instances in which his statements are not supported by the facts (i.e., “lies” in common parlance).

This is a report on political framing of the debate. It is designed to provide Republicans with political rhetoric that theoretically would shift support to the Republican positions for reform, and away from the Democratic positions. As you read it, you will see that there is a very strong emphasis on the latter, and very little on the former since the Republicans have almost nothing to offer in the way of substantial reform.

A note of caution: As you read the report, you will tend to fall into the trap of responding based on their framing of the issues. Do not do that. Always address the issues within our own framing structure. When you identify rhetoric that is blatantly untrue, you will tend to say, “That’s a lie.” Such ’tis so/’tis not debates are never productive and tend to favor the smooth talkers (predominantly Republicans). Instead, respond with highly credible facts that use the framing from our own arena.

Another word about lies. You will see that Frank Luntz does not have an issue with this. What counts is a strong message that appears to be credible, regardless of whether or not it is. On our side, we must never lie, nor even distort our message. We have established unblemished credibility with our message, and we must never do anything that might impair that credibility. That makes our task more difficult because we must be very careful that anything we say is supported by sound health policy science. But it also makes the Republicans vulnerable since they tend to concentrate on sound bites that are not based on sound policies. That risks exposing them as charlatans; we can do that with our carefully framed messages.

Some parts of the report actually provide good advice not only for the Republicans, but for the Democrats as well. In fact, you will identify some recommendations that have been lifted from our camp. We can continue to use these, and we should not attack them when they use the same rhetoric. Only when they twist it unfairly should we counter with our rhetoric describing the beneficial impacts of our policies.

Look at this example from the report: “What Americans are looking for in healthcare that your ‘solution’ will provide is, in a word, more: ‘more access to more treatments and more doctors…with less interference from insurance companies and Washington politicians and special interests.'”

What Luntz left unsaid is that these are features that more closely describe the progressive position. Most of the Republican policies would make these worse. Again, you wouldn’t respond by saying, “That’s not true.” You would respond by providing accurate sound bites on how the single payer proposal provides improved access by eliminating financial barriers to care, and single payer would eliminate the private insurance industry so it could no longer interfere with your care.

Wait. Progressive? Single payer? Isn’t my comment supposed to be talking about the framing to be used the Democrats? Well, we have a problem here.

Look at another example from Luntz’s report: “We suggest ratcheting up the rhetoric against insurance companies to almost the same degree as you do against Washington bureaucracy. Call the Democratic plan a ‘bailout for the insurance industry’ — both because it is, and because it will build lasting credibility by going after the two things the American people hate most: Washington bureaucracy and insurer greed.”

Wow! Luntz is right! The Democratic plan IS a “bailout for the insurance industry.” In fact, the Democrats have lost all credibility on this one when they have AHIP’s Karen Ignagni front and center at every hearing, every forum, every summit, and her operatives providing input to the closed-door sessions, while they have excluded from the process those who most vigorously attack the insurance companies – the single payer advocates.

Read Luntz’s report. Be prepared to respond using our framing. Attack their credibility when they provide us with obvious openings.

What is sobering is that we have to use the truth to attack both the Republican and the Democratic politicians. And this was to have been our great opening to provide high quality care for everyone.

But don’t give up. The Democrats’ plan won’t work. They’ll still need us to fix our system when their failure becomes painfully obvious.

Sen. Schumer kills reform

Schumer Offers Middle Ground on Health Care

By Robert Pear
The New York Times
May 5, 2009
In an effort to defuse the most explosive issue in the debate over comprehensive health care legislation, a top Senate Democrat has proposed that any new government-run insurance program comply with all the rules and standards that apply to private insurance.
The proposal was made Monday by Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the third-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership, in a bid to address fears that a public program would drive private insurers from the market.
Democrats in Congress hope to shift the debate from the question of whether to create a public health insurance plan to the question of how it would work.
“The public plan,” Mr. Schumer said Monday, “must be subject to the same regulations and requirements as all other plans” in the insurance market.
The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, asked Mr. Schumer to seek a solution. In his response, Mr. Schumer set forth these principles:
* The public plan must be self-sustaining. It should pay claims with money raised from premiums and co-payments. It should not receive tax revenue or appropriations from the government.
* The public plan should pay doctors and hospitals more than what Medicare pays. Medicare rates, set by law and regulation, are often lower than what 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 should be different from those who regulate the insurance market.
In addition, Mr. Schumer said, the public plan should be required to establish a reserve fund, just as private insurers must maintain reserves for the payment of anticipated claims. And he said the public plan should be required to provide the same minimum benefits as private insurers.
Karen M. Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group, said, “We are very, very grateful that members of Congress have been thoughtfully looking at our concerns.” But she said she still saw no need for a public plan “if you have much more aggressive regulation of insurance,” which the industry has agreed to support.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/health/policy/05health.html?ref=politics

The success of the effort to reform health care seemed to be threatened by the disagreement over whether or not a public insurance option should be offered to compete with private health plans. All Republicans have expressed opposition to the public option, indicating that it would be a deal breaker if included. The Progressive Caucus in the House, which actually wants single payer, has taken a position that leaving the public option out of the reform legislation would be a deal breaker.
To prevent gridlock, Sen. Charles Schumer offers the simple solution of “public option light” so that it would not be a deal breaker for either side. The progressives would have a government-sponsored plan in the mix of private plans, and the Republicans would have government-sponsored plan that is indistinguishable from private plans, creating a level playing field. Thus each side could move forward with reform without having to implement their deal-breaking rhetoric.
This is not simply Sen. Schumer’s personal effort defuse this bomb. His public option compromise was prepared at the request of Sen. Max Baucus who has been working closely with Sen. Charles Grassley to craft truly bipartisan reform legislation. In fact, at yesterday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on expanding health care coverage, in addition to the fifteen scheduled witnesses, Sen. Baucus called on committee member Schumer to present the public option compromise.
Look at the history of what has happened here. The progressives were told by the moderates that the votes for single payer were not there. So negotiations began from a position that single payer was off the table. The progressive community then decided to concede that the Republicans and the insurance industry could have their market of private plans, and that the compromise position that all could accept would be the addition of a public insurance option.
In the compromise process, the Republicans and the insurance industry finally made their move. That was, “drop dead.” The Progressive Caucus responded with, “we’ve already come more than half way, so now you drop dead.” So now we have the Schumer compromise of public option light, which now has been blessed as the current, official Democratic position, even though it moves even closer to the Republican position.
What have the Republicans conceded so far? Nothing. What is the insurance industry’s position on a competing public plan that looks just like their private plans? Karen Ignagni of AHIP says that she still sees “no need for a public plan.” No concession.
The Democrats have already conceded on an effective public plan option. They have conceded that universal coverage is not possible so we should merely “aim for universal.” They have admitted that they have not figured out a way to pay for plans with adequate benefits for working families. They have abandoned support of policies that would improve value while controlling costs.
The Democrats have already given away all major policies for reform, and the Republicans haven’t had to budge the least. Why should they when the Democrats are rushing in their direction?
It is ironic that yesterday, at the Senate Finance hearing, one by one, eight individuals, including physicians from PNHP, stood up and offered to present policies that would work.
One of them stated, “… single payer national health care; we want a seat at the table.”
Sen. Baucus responded, “We want police,” and he got them. Each was arrested in turn.
That allowed enough time for Sen. Baucus to add Sen. Schumer as an additional pseudo-witness so that they could kill the last, but all-too-feeble effort at real reform – the public option.

Sen. Schumer kills reform

Schumer Offers Middle Ground on Health Care

By Robert Pear
The New York Times
May 5, 2009

In an effort to defuse the most explosive issue in the debate over comprehensive health care legislation, a top Senate Democrat has proposed that any new government-run insurance program comply with all the rules and standards that apply to private insurance.

The proposal was made Monday by Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the third-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership, in a bid to address fears that a public program would drive private insurers from the market.

Democrats in Congress hope to shift the debate from the question of whether to create a public health insurance plan to the question of how it would work.

“The public plan,” Mr. Schumer said Monday, “must be subject to the same regulations and requirements as all other plans” in the insurance market.

The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, asked Mr. Schumer to seek a solution. In his response, Mr. Schumer set forth these principles:

* The public plan must be self-sustaining. It should pay claims with money raised from premiums and co-payments. It should not receive tax revenue or appropriations from the government.

* The public plan should pay doctors and hospitals more than what Medicare pays. Medicare rates, set by law and regulation, are often lower than what 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 should be different from those who regulate the insurance market.

In addition, Mr. Schumer said, the public plan should be required to establish a reserve fund, just as private insurers must maintain reserves for the payment of anticipated claims. And he said the public plan should be required to provide the same minimum benefits as private insurers.

Karen M. Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group, said, “We are very, very grateful that members of Congress have been thoughtfully looking at our concerns.” But she said she still saw no need for a public plan “if you have much more aggressive regulation of insurance,” which the industry has agreed to support.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/health/policy/05health.html?ref=politics

Comment:

By Don McCanne, MD

The success of the effort to reform health care seemed to be threatened by the disagreement over whether or not a public insurance option should be offered to compete with private health plans. All Republicans have expressed opposition to the public option, indicating that it would be a deal breaker if included. The Progressive Caucus in the House, which actually wants single payer, has taken a position that leaving the public option out of the reform legislation would be a deal breaker.

To prevent gridlock, Sen. Charles Schumer offers the simple solution of “public option light” so that it would not be a deal breaker for either side. The progressives would have a government-sponsored plan in the mix of private plans, and the Republicans would have government-sponsored plan that is indistinguishable from private plans, creating a level playing field. Thus each side could move forward with reform without having to implement their deal-breaking rhetoric.

This is not simply Sen. Schumer’s personal effort defuse this bomb. His public option compromise was prepared at the request of Sen. Max Baucus who has been working closely with Sen. Charles Grassley to craft truly bipartisan reform legislation. In fact, at yesterday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing on expanding health care coverage, in addition to the fifteen scheduled witnesses, Sen. Baucus called on committee member Schumer to present the public option compromise.

Look at the history of what has happened here. The progressives were told by the moderates that the votes for single payer were not there. So negotiations began from a position that single payer was off the table. The progressive community then decided to concede that the Republicans and the insurance industry could have their market of private plans, and that the compromise position that all could accept would be the addition of a public insurance option.

In the compromise process, the Republicans and the insurance industry finally made their move. That was, “drop dead.” The Progressive Caucus responded with, “we’ve already come more than half way, so now you drop dead.” So now we have the Schumer compromise of public option light, which now has been blessed as the current, official Democratic position, even though it moves even closer to the Republican position.

What have the Republicans conceded so far? Nothing. What is the insurance industry’s position on a competing public plan that looks just like their private plans? Karen Ignagni of AHIP says that she still sees “no need for a public plan.” No concession.

The Democrats have already conceded on an effective public plan option. They have conceded that universal coverage is not possible so we should merely “aim for universal.” They have admitted that they have not figured out a way to pay for plans with adequate benefits for working families. They have abandoned support of policies that would improve value while controlling costs.

The Democrats have already given away all major policies for reform, and the Republicans haven’t had to budge the least. Why should they when the Democrats are rushing in their direction?

It is ironic that yesterday, at the Senate Finance hearing, one by one, eight individuals, including physicians from PNHP, stood up and offered to present policies that would work.

One of them stated, “… single payer national health care; we want a seat at the table.”

Sen. Baucus responded, “We want police,” and he got them. Each was arrested in turn.

That allowed enough time for Sen. Baucus to add Sen. Schumer as an additional pseudo-witness so that they could kill the last, but all-too-feeble effort at real reform – the public option.