GOP health care reform bill ignores uninsured, insurance industry abuses

November 6, 2:40 PMLiberal ExaminerRaymond Gellner

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House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) holds a copy of the
U.S. Constitution, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 during a GOP
health care news conference.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon

House Republicans finally released their health insurance reform proposal this week after they had spent months dithering and launching continual malignant and false attacks against the Democrats and any attempt at the creation of a government-sponsored health care plan. Unfortunately, rather than make a legitimate attempt to resolve the issue which is plaguing health care and health insurance in this country, this plan appears to be targeted more towards creating a distraction in order to slow down and stall the reform process altogether.

The bill starts with the promise of a lower cost: approximately $6 billion per year versus the $83 billion to $100 billion per year of the Democratic plans. However, it only reduces the deficit by $68 billion over ten years as compared to the $104 billion in deficit reduction over the same period on the Democratic bill.

It has the potential to lower the cost on the premiums on healthier customers, but allows increased premiums on customers with poorer health and higher health risks, despite the individual’s lack of ability to alter their condition. It also gives small businesses the ability to pool their risk, thereby potentially reducing costs. This, of course, pales in comparison to the ability to have a national pool as many Democrats would like with a “Medicare for all” plan.

It does include opening up insurance across state lines, which in turn the GOP says will encourage lower prices through competition. However, without the removal of the anti-trust exemption which the health insurance industry presently enjoys, the insurance companies can just negotiate their desired rates and profits amongst themselves, thereby removing the cost control created by increasing supposed competition.

The GOP bill does not stop insurance companies from dropping customers and denying legitimate claims to customers due to insurance company self-proclaimed pre-existing conditions. This legislation does not even set parameters on what is and what is not a pre-existing condition. Consequently, the insurance companies will continue their expansion of the definition of “pre-existing condition” as they have thus far done against victims of rape and domestic abuse. What is next, listing the potential for fertile women to become pregnant as a pre-existing condition? How about if someone has ever exceeded the speed limit while driving? Does that not make them more prone to injury? Let’s not forget that DNA analysis make it quite easy for insurance companies to do tests on customers, then maximize their profit margin by keeping only the customers with a lower chance for genetic aberrations. With these excuses and more, it gives the insurance companies the ability to pick and choose their customers as they please.

Of course, what many consider to be the most crucial reason as to why we need health insurance reform is virtually ignored by the GOP bill. This bill does little to provide insurance to the uninsured, and will actually increase the number of uninsured to 52 million by 2019. In turn, this will dramatically increase the cost of emergency care for the uninsured. As a result, most likely any savings to premiums for those with insurance will in the end have to be paid through the increase in taxes needed to pay for emergency services for the uninsured.

Tragically, under this plan the number of Americans who die just because they do not have health insurance that could circumvent easily preventable fatalities will surely increase respectively. Presently 45,000 Americans die each year from ailments that could be avoided had they the insurance to cover prevention and treatment. How many more would it be under GOP legislation?

In addition, the GOP bill does nothing to address the all too silent issue of the underinsured; those who have some coverage, but still do not have enough coverage should they have a serious medical issue. It is estimated that there are more underinsured in this country than there are uninsured. Many of the bankruptcies in the United States today due to medical reasons occur to the underinsured.

In the end, this legislation proposed by the Republican Party is merely their attempt to derail the Democratic plan and a public insurance option. Why else would they wait to release a bill, and an ineffectual on at that, just as the final bills within each of the chambers are being debated?

The price tag to the GOP plan may seem cheap, but as it worsens the problem within the health care system, it is hardly a bargain. Most Americans want meaningful reform, and the majority of Americans want at least a public insurance option. For the GOP to time and time again ignore the will of the people is an insult to Americans. They could have at least attempted to solve the problem; unfortunately, yet again they do what has become the standard play in their playbook: work to stall and sabotage viable plans by any means possible just because they do not follow the “Republican Way.”
 

Copyright © 2009 by Raymond Gellner