Obama Is Losing with Healthcare Reform

Public opposition threatens to crush President Obama’s healthcare reforms and wound his presidency, because his plans would do more harm than good.

The bills moving through Congress reveal the basic elements of his preferred approach.

Universal Coverage and Community Ratings—everyone plays and pays what they can; insurers must accept all applicants, can’t charge higher premiums for preexisting conditions, or cancel policyholders.

Subsidies for those who cannot fully afford premiums:

A Public or Nonprofit Insurance Option—a plan for those who can’t buy private insurance and additional competition for private insurers.

Employer Mandates—an 8 percent payroll tax on businesses that don’t offer health insurance to employees.

Proponents of reform argue covering all Americans and greater emphasis on early diagnosis and prevention will lower healthcare costs. Yet, House legislation requires additional taxes exceeding $500 billion. The system can’t be more efficient if it needs more money to pay for it.

House and Senate legislation would cut Medicare funding by at least $150 billion. If real savings were possible without diminishing services, the Congress would have already taken those. Naturally, seniors are frightened.

Employers could calculate paying the 8 percent tax is cheaper than their current plans, drop coverage and push employees into the public plan.

The president would require that all employers offer the public option. Folks who now select from a menu offered by employers know full well how employers can steer them into less-expensive, less-desirable plans by manipulating the choices. Enter the public option.

Long waits and arbitrary treatment at the Veterans Administration and IRS have convinced many Americans they simply don’t want government agencies determining what treatments they receive or how fast those are delivered.

Reforms are need. Healthcare costs are 50 percent higher in the United States than in Canada or Europe. Culprits include huge malpractice costs, higher drug prices and physician fees, hospital and insurance bureaucracies, and lavish executive salaries foreign systems don’t carry.

From the start, President Obama gave malpractice lawyers a pass, so the concessions from other big interests are minimal.

By further subsidizing healthcare, Obama’s reforms will drive up demand and prices. The typical family will see premiums rise at least $1000 a year.

According to a recent Rasmussen poll, more 56 percent of Americans now oppose these plans, and disapproval is particularly strong among seniors.

President Obama’s failure to sell the plan is grounded in facts not a right-wing conspiracy and conservative efforts to discredit a liberal president.

Obama is losing his credibility to lead but he has no one to blame but himself.

Comments

[Windsun33:]

The lack of leadership from Obama is one of the main reasons that it has turned into a total fiasco. By leaving it totally up to congress, he has in effect left it totally up to the lobbyists and special interests. In his recent media blitz the only thing amazing was the lack of any details.

Sep 29 11:03 AM

[TeresaE:]

"Obama is Losing With Healthcare Reform"

Nope, we the people are the losers.

Nice article, though the costs to an average family are grossly understated. Seniors are screwed, as our any of us that want real health and not pills from Big Pharma.

And yes, the 8% payroll tax will be a welcome alternative to offering insurance. And it will push the costs directly onto the back of those in the middle class that can't afford it. Then they will just pay the tax and not be insured.

There are no fixes in any of these plans, just higher costs, bigger government and soon, total control of our lives. Enjoy!

ps-Obama and the democrats don't care that the majority oppose them. Don't care at all. Have any of us asked why they wouldn't care with elections looming? I think I know and it has to do with creating 12-30 million new Democratic voters overnight. Wake up people, we are FUBAR in so many ways.

Sep 29 11:22 AM

[nova:]

"Healthcare costs are 50 percent higher in the United States than in Canada or Europe. Culprits include huge malpractice costs, higher drug prices and physician fees, hospital and insurance bureaucracies, and lavish executive salaries foreign systems don’t carry."

The major cost drivers of any socialist program are FRAUD, FRAUD, and FRAUD. People always find ways to "milk" the system bif time.

For this matter, the present US health care system is very much socialistic one: health insurers do not care about controlling fraud and medical cost. Instead, they are just passing the cost to the payers. A real free-market system does not work this way.

Sep 29 12:05 PM

[medsearch:]

As a person who has spent 30+ years in health care, I can tell the uninformed that Obama's plan is a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, it looks like most of the intelligent Americans understand this fact too. Those who want something-for-nothing, and expect the government to fund it, have no understanding of reality. If it is "free", they all want to stand in line for yet another government hand-out. As my father once said, "there is no free ticket on Wall Street". Americans pushing for this ridiculous goverment-controlled health care plan need to realize this fact!

Learn more about the impact of Obamacare on jobs in medical sales at www.gorillamedicalsale... .

Sep 29 10:32 PM

[casey00001:]

What drives me crazy is that opinion polls say 60% of the Public doesn't want Obamacare. Now he did not get elected with 60% of the vote so that means people who voted for him don't want this nonsense. Where is the outrage? Any elected official who votes for this garbage will probably see himself un-elected next go around.

Sep 30 08:45 AM

[Emerald:]

There hasn't been any real discussion of other countries plans for both the benefits and drawbacks. Most of this has been noise in the US. There are viable plans that are run by private insurers but are effectively single payer and work. Look at Switzerland that did a lot of research of other countries before enacting their own. To keep costs down, basic care is delivered and priced as a not-for-profit. Other services are sold by private insurers similar to Medicare Advantage. Everyone is required to have health insurance and the system works. The biggest problem in the US are the lobbyists who purchase the votes of our elected officials and subsequently protect their market share and pass on increased costs to all taxpayers. Employees can't easily change jobs and we are quickly becoming uncompetitive with other countries. How many of the multimillionaire clowns on TV purchase their own private policies?

I agree thee is no free lunch and the cost of heath care will keep rising until companies lower benefits to their employees or simply say here is $5,000 a year and go buy your own policy. Maybe then voters will wake up and throw the bums out.

Sep 30 11:53 AM