By Michael Mccord
Portsmouth Herald
March 6, 2009
PORTSMOUTH — Though he didn’t attend President Barack Obama’s health care forum in Washington on Thursday, Dr. Thomas Clairmont felt that he was heard — after fearing the health care reform proposal he supports would not be part of the discussion.
Clairmont, a Portsmouth primary care physician, contacted the Herald Tuesday and said he was concerned that the Obama administration would brush aside a government-managed, single-payer health care plan advocated by Clairmont and 15,000 other doctors and medical professionals through the Physicians for a National Health Program organization.
Dr. Thomas P. Clairmont, a Portsmouth primary
care physician, said, “I can explain our proposal
in 10 seconds. It will cost 4.5 percent in taxes
and there will be no premiums, no pre-existing
condition restriction and no tying health care to
employment.” Don Clark photo
But on Wednesday, the White House extended invitations to Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the most prominent sponsor of single-payer health care legislation in Congress, and Dr. Oliver Fein, PNHP president, to speak and make a single-payer presentation.
Clairmont believes the White House reacted correctly to the volume of letters, e-mails, blog posts and media coverage about the lack of single-payer representation at the White House Forum on Health Reform, which included members of Congress, medical professionals, hospital executives, health insurance and drug company representatives, and lobbyists from dozens of other business and consumer organizations.
“What we want is a fair hearing,” said Clairmont, who led a December health care forum in Portsmouth, one of 4,000 such forums held nationwide which sent findings to the Obama transition team. He said the Portsmouth gathering and many more across the country showed strong support for a single-payer solution to the health care crisis.
Clairmont said that single-payer is the best approach to deal with a health care system that, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in 2009 will cost the country $2.5 trillion, or about 15.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Health care spending per person is estimated at $8,100 per person — while more than 47 million Americans have no health insurance.
“I can explain our proposal in 10 seconds,” Clairmont said. “It will cost 4.5 percent in taxes and there will be no premiums, no pre-existing condition restriction and no tying health care to employment. Because we eliminate health insurance companies, we can save $360 billion a year in administrative costs. Why are our premiums paying for the bonuses of health insurance industry executives?”
Clairmont said that politics and ideology need to step aside to allow for a serious debate. “We should be able to do side by side comparisons to see what’s best for the country,” he said.
In his opening remarks at the summit, Obama said that health care reform can no longer be delayed because it has become a drag on the entire economy as health care premiums continue to rise for businesses and their employees.
“In this effort, every voice must be heard. Every idea must be considered. Every option must be on the table. There will be no sacred cows in this discussion,” Obama said. “Each of us must accept that none of us will get everything we want, and no proposal for reform will be perfect.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., attended the forum and said that many ideas will come into play as the health care reform effort moves from the White House to lawmakers in Congress.
“I did meet last week in New Hampshire with supporters of the single-payer system,” Shaheen said during a conference call with reporters Thursday. “They have a very interesting proposal, and it will certainly be looked at. I think everything is going to be on the table.”
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, is a co-sponsor of Conyers’ single-payer legislation, but one of Pingree’s ultimate goals, said spokesman Willy Ritch, “is to see the sort of reform that will lower the cost of health care for those who are already insured, improves the overall quality of care and provides guaranteed access for every family.”