We’ve been blogging on the subject of health care reform for a couple of months and, frankly, have been very circumspect in our comments, wanting to see exactly what bills that Congress will be considering.

There have been many articles published recently in which health care officials have reacted to the various reform bills in Congress. In fact, a good overview of health care industry reaction can be found in the following Health Care Leaders article. But we have to say the individuals quoted still skirt the issue by remaining politically correct.

Now that the Senate Finance Committee has released its long-awaited draft bill for mark up, the debate is moving into high gear with more than 500 proposed amendments being introduced. The result is that there has been a huge increase in the complexity of the reform effort and the debate about it, a complexity that deserves appropriate time for thoughtful, reasoned discussion. Unfortunately, the Democrats are adamant about moving legislation through in a very short period of time that will not allow for adequate discussion and evaluation of the impact of the proposed legislation. This is extremely disappointing given that this has the potential to be the most significant piece of legislation in decades.

We think that everything currently on the table opens the door for the eventual takeover of our private healthcare system by the government. Even incremental steps, no matter how small, provide opportunity for government intrusion. Current proposed legislation would increase the size of government, reduce choice for patients and doctors, and result in a trillion dollars of new deficit spending. Quality will suffer and millions of Americans will receive poorer coverage than they now have.

We encourage everyone to contact their elected representatives to let them know how the American public feels about the proposed legislation. Many representatives have online petitions regarding health care. Kansas Congressman Jerry Moran, for one, has what we believe is a reasoned approach to reform:

• Make patients more accountable for their own health and therefore, health coverage.
• Enact tort reform so doctors can practice medicine freely. Lip service to “tort reform test projects” is ducking the issue. Several states have shown that real savings can be achieved by ensuring that doctors don’t have to practice “defensive medicine.”
• Let employers participate in “defined contribution” programs to fund health care for employees rather than “defined benefit” programs. That way, consumers can purchase plans appropriate for their needs rather than having to accept a “one size fits all” health plan.

The time to voice your opinion is now!

This week President Obama will address a joint session of Congress and the American people on the subject of health care reform. His speech appears to be a ninth-inning effort to regain control of the health care reform discussion, which has spiraled off in a hundred different directions over the summer. In fact, the president never really took the lead in the discussion in the first place; he merely set Congress on the task while providing a few glittering general principles as a framework for legislation, such as universal coverage and a “public option”. He then stepped back and let Congress go to work.

Well, Congress did in typical fashion. And what a mess we have now – the country is polarized over the issue, any attempts at true bipartisanship were superfluous, and even the Democratic majority in Congress is split.

Americans are justified in their vocal objections to “Obamacare” because it defies all logic – we simply can’t expand coverage to millions of people without incurring huge increases in spending and we can’t cut $500 billion from Medicare without affecting care. Plus, promises that you can keep your current health care plan if you like it ring false because those decisions are made by employers that provide the coverage, not by individuals.

The president has missed an opportunity to enact real reform and engage in bipartisanship by not seeking a truly American-style health care system that is driven by free market principles. We hope the president realizes that Americans’ sense of fair play is insulted by the prospect of a “public option” and scraps that idea.

Let private insurers compete, while requiring their return to “community rating” rather than “experience rating”. Today insurers compete by avoiding bad risks. Requiring them to take on all comers regardless of medical condition solves the most basic problem that every day people face in today’s system. The health insurance industry agreed to this principle early in the current discussion as long as they didn’t have to compete against the government as well.

The administration’s insistence on the public option just inflames the debate. We hope the president has listened to America this August and comes before the country with a new vision of reform that will include us all – conservative and liberal alike. But he’s going to have to give one heck of a speech.