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12-2 Guest Opinion

Congress isn’t telling the whole truth about health care

• Published: 12/1/2009 3:13:37 PM

   Medicare is going broke, Medicaid is an ineffective safety net. There are people in this country with serious illnesses who cannot afford health insurance. There are unethical people defrauding the system and providing care that is substandard. Insurance companies deny coverage based on any excuse they can find, and worse, shamelessly cancel coverage retroactively if they find someone “forgot” to tell them about their childhood acne.
   Our health care system has some serious flaws and needs to be revised.
   I applaud Congress for having the fortitude to tackle this divisive and challenging issue. However, I am deeply saddened by their lack of courage when it comes to telling the American public the whole truth and dealing with the true drivers of health care costs.
   Consider this — we were told the House bill would only cost $1.2 trillion. This is true, but what Congress did not say is that they pulled out the much needed long-term fix to the physician payment system and voted on it separately. This bill, which passed the House late last week, will cost more than $300 billion, making the total health care reform costs at least $1.5 trillion.
   Or consider this, the Democrats have repeatedly told you that if you like your health insurance plan you do not have to switch to a public option. This is true — just not the whole truth. The whole truth is that if a public option is implemented and priced lower than current commercial insurance rates, as Congress promises, it will create a financial incentive for your employer to drop your coverage which would then force you on to the public option.
   I run two small companies with 90 employees and 45 employees. If we were to drop health insurance for our employees and pay the 8 percent fine required by the House bill (for not providing health insurance to our staff). we would save ourselves $300,000 a year!
   The second part of this bill requires every American to purchase health insurance or pay a fine themselves. With the average cost of health insurance now well more than $300 per month per person, what would you rather do, pay $3,600 a year for health insurance or pay a 2.5 percent fine? If you make $70,000 a year, a 2.5% fine would only be $1,750 per year — much better than paying $3,600 a year in health insurance premiums.
   Congress has promised us that the public option will cost less than commercial insurance. In fact, there are only three ways to make this happen: reduce your benefits; increase your co-pays and deductibles or pay doctors and hospitals less.
   Considering that Medicare and Medicaid already pay physicians less than cost, the logical solution for physicians will be to reduce access even further to Medicare, Medicaid and now public option patients — meaning you will have a plan that costs less, but there may not be any physicians willing to see you.
   Passing a flawed bill is not a victory. We deserve better from those we have elected to represent us.
   True health care reform must address the issues that impact health. Poor diet, smoking, obesity, drug use and lack of exercise are big components of the true cost of health care in the United States.
Improving quality and reducing cost are not done by making sure everyone has health insurance. They are accomplished by improving the overall health of our population. This issue is not being addressed. Why not? Is it too sensitive politically? Is it now an anathema to expect individuals to be self reliant? Has personal excess replaced hard work as the overriding virtue in this country?
On these issues Congress has shown a resounding lack of courage.
   The House and Senate bills are both bad bills. They do not go far enough in some areas and go too far in others. They do not address the root causes of our health care challenge, nor do they strengthen our health care system. What they do is create new subsidies for programs that have not been proven to improve health care at the same tine that they create an enormous new tax burden on all of us.
   There are those whose medical problems and circumstances leave them in dire need. As a compassionate country we cannot ignore these people. There should be a system in place to care for these individuals in an efficient and cost effective manner.
   At the same time, for most of the population, personal health should be a personal responsibility. Neglect of that responsibility should not create an obligation on others who do act responsibly.
Call our representatives and tell them we deserve true and realistic health care reform. And demand the whole truth this time.

David Schlactus is a Newberg resident and CEO of Willamette Surgery Center and Hope Orthopedics of Oregon

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