Health Care Bill's Poison Pills

I have been saying for a few days now that too much has been cut out of the health care bill in the Senate, and what remains would do more harm than good for most people. A lot of progressives agree with that. But there are still some who take the view that anything is better than nothing, and they believe that the bill is still worth passing even though it is seriously flawed.

Well, let's look at some of the things left in the bill and see just how good they are. Some think this bill will lower health care and insurance costs. I don't see anything in the bill that would accomplish that. The public option would have forced insurance companies to lower their premiums to compete, but it is gone. There is nothing left that would prevent insurance companies from raising their prices anytime they want and as much as they want.

Others say the bill forces insurance companies to accept those with pre-existing conditions. What they don't tell you is that it allows the insurance companies to charge up to 50% extra for those with pre-existing conditions. That will still effectively prevent most of those with pre-existing conditions (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.) from being able to purchase insurance.

Others believe it will provide those 55 and above with the ability to purchase insurance, since they couldn't be treated as though they had a pre-existing condition. Not quite true. Once again, the bill will let the insurance companies charge up to 50% more for those in that age group. I'm in that age group, and I can't afford insurance at the regular price, let alone if I was charged an extra 50%. This bill will also leave a lot of other older Americans out in the cold.

Does the bill put doctors back in charge of deciding what treatment a patient will get? No. It still leaves that decision to insurance company employees -- the same employees who's bonus is dependent on how many treatments they can deny payment on. The more payments they can deny, the higher bonus they get. In other words, insurance company profits are more important than patient lives.

Finally, the bill would force Americans to buy health insurance. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a family making $54,000 would wind up being forced to spend 17% of their income on health insurance (or about $9,180). Do you think that family should be forced to pay that much to private insurance companies? If you answered yes, then you're either rich or have company-provided insurance. It is simply wrong to put that kind of salary hit on a middle-class family -- especially in a recession.

This is just a bad bill, and I fail to see any redeeming qualities in it. It will not cover everyone, and it will be a financial burden for many others. It allows the insurance companies to rip-off older Americans and those with pre-existing conditions. It fails to lower the cost of health care, health insurance or prescription drugs. And it also leaves the insurance companies in charge of a patient's treatment instead of a doctor.

These are all "poison pills" which should cause any senator with a conscience to vote against this bill. Health care reform is badly needed, but this is not reform. It is only a giant payday for insurance companies and a continuation of business as usual.

I am disappointed in Democrats (and President Obama) for trying to pass this off as reform. And the worst part is that if this bad bill is passed, real reform could be delayed for years (if not decades). It is time for progressives to step up and either fix this bill or kill it. Either option is preferable to passing the bill in its current form.