Don't Let Scare Tactics Derail Health Care Reform
Don’t Let Scare Tactics Derail Health Care Reform
By Greg Marchildon, AARP Vermont State Director
As the Obama Administration plans to lead a health care reform forum in Vermont next week, our state will once again be in the spotlight as a national leader on this issue. Indeed, Vermont had the courage to take the lead in addressing both the cost and access components of our health care crisis. However, advocates and lawmakers alike have always acknowledged that a federal solution was critical to any meaningful reform effort.
This health care mess is intensifying our severe economic problems by burdening employers, employees and government. Unemployment is pushing 6.8%. The Vermont state budget gap is projected to be $200 million for 2010, while some economists fear we have not hit bottom.
At AARP, we believe careful health care reforms are a key to recovery. All Americans should have affordable health care choices. People who like their coverage should get to keep it. No one should be denied insurance, a real problem for people over 50. We should act now to strengthen Medicare for the benefit of all generations.
Our hope is that the Vermont forum at UVM focuses on these real issues, because critics of health reform often try to distract us with scare tactics. You might think of these false charges as the “Deadly Myths” of health reform. Here are four of them:
Deadly Myth Number 1: We can’t afford to fix health care because we’re in a steep recession.
On the contrary, we can’t afford to delay fixing health care. The current path is burdening households with medical debt, forcing people into bankruptcy, and causing the sick to hold off care. One poll found that more than half of U.S. households held back on medical care within the past year.
Tackling these problems is really an investment in our future. The cost of doing nothing is just too high – for individuals, for households, for businesses, for the whole economy.
Deadly Myth Number 2: Health reform means socialized medicine.
AARP would fight against any measure that would attempt to prevent a doctor or hospital from giving the best possible care to their patients.
Let’s be clear: Scary talking points about government bureaucrats choosing your health care are just not true. We believe any health care reform effort must include broad choice for people to pick their doctors, hospitals and treatments.
Deadly Myth Number 3: No matter what happens, the baby boomers will bankrupt the system as they get older.
Research shows that the ever-rising cost of health care -- not the size of the boomer generation -- is the real threat to the federal budget. Health care costs continue to rise faster than overall inflation, and take up a growing share of the economy.
The solution is to adopt sustainable policies that bring overall health care costs under control. Cutting back on Medicare and Medicaid benefits will cause great hardship for individuals, but not solve the root problem of rising costs for prescription drugs and other health expenses.
Deadly Myth Number 4: Covering the uninsured does not help those who already have insurance.
If you’re lucky enough to have insurance, you’re already paying for the uninsured, whether you know it or not. While computations vary, one study estimated the tab at $922 extra for family premiums, and $341 extra on individual policies. Expanding coverage reduces this cost shift. Another study found that the majority of uninsured are actually working people or families with a worker whose employer does not offer insurance, and they can't afford it on their own. Hardship is rising along with the unemployment rate.
We should not be distracted by scare tactics. Instead, we need to focus on fair ways to improve our system by containing costs and increasing value. Achieving these changes won’t come easy. Patients will have to do a better job of listening to their doctors and living healthy lifestyles. Doctors and hospitals will have to be better stewards of costly resources. Insurers need to treat people fairly. We should find ways to reward doctors for keeping people healthy, not just ordering costly treatments.
Let’s hope the Vermont experience and initiative stirs meaningful discussion about these real challenges. There’s too much at stake to waste time debating myths.
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Added: Mar 25, 2009
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