GOP: We care more about health costs
The details of a Republican health care overhaul are trickling out, and the GOP is trying to convince voters that Republican lawmakers are focused more on cutting health care costs than Democrats. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
Capitol Hill at sunrise (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
More on Health
TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: Senate majority leader Harry Reid dropped a big old health care hint today. Reid was asked if a bill would be passed by the end of the year, and he said he's not going to be bound by any timeline. Meanwhile, details of a Republican proposal to counter the Democrats' offering are trickling out. We don't know exactly what it would cost. The Congressional Budget Office is still running the numbers. But we do know the GOP is trying to convince voters it's more interested in cutting health care costs than Democrats are. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
NANCY MARSHALL GENZER: House Republicans say their plan boils down to cutting health care costs, while Democrats would expand coverage. The GOP plans to offer its alternative as an amendment to the Democrats' health care overhaul. Republicans would curb malpractice lawsuits. They say that would save money because doctors wouldn't order unnecessary tests to keep from being sued. The GOP proposal would let small businesses pool together to buy insurance, and it would provide incentives for health savings accounts.
Republican Aaron Schock of Illinois.
CONGRESSMAN AARON SCHOCK: We're committed to finding ways to reduce costs, and make health insurance more affordable to everyone, to help get those 30 to 40 million Americans who don't have health insurance covered.
Republicans, like Democrats, say they want to help people with pre- existing conditions get affordable health care. But they leave out a number of key features of the Democrats' bill, including a government-run insurance option.
Democrat Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania says a government option would lower insurance rates.
CONGRESSWOMAN ALLYSON SCHWARTZ: Hopefully it would be able to provide those affordable rates, and make sure that there is some competition in every region of the country.
Amitabh Chandrah is a health care economist at Harvard. He says both Republicans and Democrats are ignoring a very expensive elephant in the room: soaring Medicare costs.
AMITABH CHANDRAH: The elephant is like destroying all the china, and we know it and we're not willing to do anything about it because of the politics.
Chandrah says both parties think it would be political suicide to reform Medicare. But he says you can't contain health care costs without looking at Medicare.
In Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
From San Jose, CA, 11/08/2009
The elephant destroying the china is an apt description of how the radical fiscal conservatives (most often represented as an elephant contrary to its noble species status) have wrecked any change for the better in health care. Why do other developed countries have basic health care at less cost? Why are some many people without health care? or fighting with their current coverage? As someone who works in health care the Paperwork and Computer Shuffling Act is in place -it takes healthcare dollars out of circulation for citizens and profiteers. Profiteers in Healthcare: that is an oxymoron! How can someone be OK with skimming profit off of a hospital or health insurance.
Government is there to take up the slack and organize systems that can not be organized ethically or efficiently for common good by a free market place - yes? For example HSA only help those who can afford them and expensive CPA's.
Constructive Capitalism Not Destructive Capitalism.
A real elephant in the china shop is skyrocketing costs of covering end of life care and extreme situations. Why doesn't the AARP support a moratorium of putting 80 year olds+ in ICU's! There was a 92 year old in ICU for 100 days before dying. And what about 10 million+ dollar newborn babies. This may seem harsh but at some point families and communities need to be asked to directly pay for extra-ordinary care or allow someone to die a natural death in peace and dignity. The ICU is not dignity nor can Neonatal units truly address pain control in neo-nat's!
Mr. Lovelace why would you not want equal care (preventative) at a basic level for everyone? Right now there is unequal, non-equitable and inefficient care. The Democrats in congress are hero's to many - they are thinking at a human level in the face of the inhumanity that is occurring - we need the public option and also regulation of how coding is done and so much more reform.
PS Mr Zen - portable records could end up being inhumane to others who are discriminated against due to health status - the last thing you need if you have MS or are fighting prostate cancer or struggling with diabetes or who's teen has attempted suicide. With a truly private and equitable single payer system will it work. See "Sicko" you guys - why not try it?
From Castro Valley, CA, 11/05/2009
Hearing Tuesday that the Republican health care reform plan included additional incentives for Health Savings Accounts just about made me gag! Do they think they're doing us a favor, like we all need more paperwork and bureaucracy? They could call it the Paperwork and Pencil Pusher Employment Act!
I have this proposal: Instead of just voting Republican, I'll get my absentee voter card and mark it with a full Republican ticket. Then, if every Republican Congressman saves a receipt from each lobbyist that leaves their office in tears for being told 'NO', and sends me a copy before the election deadline, I'll mail in my vote! OK? Re-election is in the bag! Just start saving those receipts!
From San Antonio, TX, 11/04/2009
Scott Kraz is one of the only people out here who really get it. Anything that's managed by the government is socialism, which means our current health system is socialized. We need to separate health care from health insurance. Let the government provide basic health care for all Safeway style and then have people choose how they will manage their risks. Then enhance the system by integrating portable medical record capability into a national "real id".
From Salt Lake City, 11/04/2009
The only tenable solutions use economic forces. Require everyone to pay the actual cost, or at least a percentage of the cost that doctors charge. When people have to pay the real costs, they will negotiate their prices with the doctors (Requiring centralized billing wouldn't hurt either). Allow medical facilities to write part of charity care off their taxes at the same rates they charge everyone else.
There will be no medical savings until people feel the real economic costs of care. Catch-all insurance plans raise costs and hurt everyone while high deductible HSA plans make everyone responsible for care without the interference of more government bureaucracies (111 new agencies and committees according to the GOP).
From Milan, MI, 11/03/2009
The public option in the Democratic plan is a bug, not a feature. A public plan is only cheaper if you ignore the cost to taxpayers; given the "elephant in the room" of skyrocketing Medicare costs (which are hardly new; Medicare has been over budget even budgeting for its being over budget for decades), why are the Democrats even considering offering the same sort of plan to everyone?
From merrimack, NH, 11/03/2009
The Republican plan has the silent public option - if you are uninsured, when you get sick the public pays your medical bills after you have paid the appropriate bankruptcy and premature death copays.
After all, medical debt is easier to shed than student loan debt, and when you go bankrupt after incurring thousand or hundreds of thousands dollars of medical debt, (you can't get out of even a hundred in student loan debt) the public pays, either doctors and hospitals spreading your costs around, or the taxpayer pay for uncompensated care.
But this public option does have the Malthusian cost cutting option of deselection from survival of the unfit, those who are genetically unfit because the don't have the means.
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.