With costs soaring, we can't afford not to reform health care

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published September 02, 2009

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I am outraged at what is happening in the debate about health care reform. Those against health care reform are employing dated, irrational, simplistic scare tactics that are outright lies designed to make people afraid and angry.

They’re saying reform will cause problems. But we already HAVE horrific problems! Health care reform plans are designed to SOLVE problems.

They say it will hurt health care.

Then why are family doctors in favor of health care reform? Steve Albrecht, president-elect of the Washington Academy of Family Physicians, says: “We are pro-health care reform, we want people to get the right care at the right place for the right cost.”

They say it will hurt seniors.

Then why is AARP pro reform? The AARP Web site says: “There has been a lot of misinformation and fear-mongering in this debate, the rumors just keep getting crazier. Haven’t we all had enough?”

President Obama has articulated the following core principles to guide health care reform:

• It must reduce costs.

• It must be available for all.

• It must ensure quality care.

• And it can’t break the bank.

What sane person would disagree with those principles?

The three bills in Congress right now have been methodically crafted with input from all sides of the issue. My friend Stewart Henderson, says: “This is a common sense democratic approach to solving the health care crisis.”

The comprehensive health care reform proposals guarantee coverage, options that cannot be taken away, and stable costs. You can keep your current plan and doctor if you want to. If you can’t afford insurance, they provide assistance to cover your premium.

It expands coverage to children that are currently not covered.

If Congress fails to pass health reforms that help contain costs, premiums are projected to rise to one quarter of a family’s income within the decade.

Who can afford that?

Businesses are being crushed by employee health care costs. Many small businesses and nonprofits can’t afford employee health insurance at all.

At the same time, commercial insurance companies are raising costs at 14 percent to over 20 percent per year and 20 percent to 30 percent of each dollar we pay in premiums goes to administrative costs, including the cost of denying claims, throwing people off coverage when they get sick, and paying CEOs multimillion-dollar salaries!

This isn’t about Obama, government control or socialism and it is not just about covering the uninsured. It is about our families — yours and mine.

This is about you and I paying more each year for less coverage and having no guarantee that we will have insurance or access to care when we need it.

Who wins if health care reform does not pass?

Not me. Not the middle class. Not business. And certainly not children or the elderly.

The winners will be those who benefit from the status quo and big insurance companies. We cannot sit back and be bullied by pundits paid to spin health care reform into a political game.

In a rich country such as ours, access to health care should be a basic human right. Let’s not squander this opportunity by giving any credence to outright lies and petty politicking.

Annie Cubberly, executive director of the Child Care Action Council, is a member of The Olympian’s Board of Contributors. She can be reached at annie@ccacwa.org.