Government "Hellthcare" Reform
August 04, 2009
By Ron Bachman, CHT Senior Fellow
Health reform in Washington has seldom been about health or healthcare. Too often it is about power. Controlling $2.5 trillion dollars gives politicians control over election results. The bill passed out of the Senate HELP Committee is loaded with new controlling councils, agencies, boards, departments and other entities all with the power to spread tax dollars around to cronies through “planning and establishment” grants. The word “grant” shows up 421 times in the bill.
The United States already has the largest national healthcare system in the world. The government controls 50 cents of every healthcare dollar spent in the United States. Federal programs of Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, VA health, and Tri-Care are responsible for half of the healthcare in the country. Yet, these government controlled programs exemplify out of control spending, waste, fraud, abuse, and the lack of modern technology that the President says so confidently that the federal bureaucracy will change once all healthcare is under their control.
The reason the current healthcare reform proposal before Congress makes little sense to the general public is because we inherently know that the federal government cannot solve the problems that are created by current government ineptness.
The President and Congress should read the non-partisan study by the American Academy of Actuaries which identified an approach where “total savings generated could be as much as 12 percent to 20 percent” and future “trend rates (are) lower than traditional PPO plans by approximately 3 percent to 5 percent.” Importantly, the Academy report also concludes that in these plans “recommended care for chronic conditions at the same or higher level than traditional plan participants” and the “studies reported a higher incidence of physicians following evidence-based care protocols.”
This basis for these remarkable results is the use of consumer-directed health plans. Healthcare consumerism has been developing in the employer and personal insurance market for nearly a decade. The report is an unbiased view that shows remarkable results. New generation plans are being developed and implemented by employers and purchased by individuals that show even higher levels of savings. Healthcare consumerism encourages personal responsibility with rewards and incentives for healthy choices and adherence to physician treatments. They are good for both the healthy and those suffering from chronic conditions. The President speaks many of the words and uses the language of consumerism, but the Senate bill would make illegal rewards and incentives for those who take the initiative to control their blood pressure, lower cholesterol, stop smoking, or improve other health related standards.
Changing federal and state laws to support the growth of healthcare consumerism by promoting personal responsibility can lower the uninsured by 15 million without any government expenditures. If President Obama and Congress have better ideas proven to control costs and improve quality of care they should start by changing the 50 percent of healthcare already under government control. Mr. President, show the country, employers, and voters how to successfully implement health reform before the 180 million with private health insurance suffer from political Hellth Reform.
Ronald E. Bachman FSA, MAAA is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Health Transformation, an organization founded by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Center for Health Transformation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before the U.S. Congress. Mr. Bachman worked as an outside expert to members of Congress and the Clinton administration during the 1993-94health reform.
