All Senator Harry Reid wants for Christmas is a massive health care reform bill.  Let’s hope he doesn’t get anything from his wish list this year.

The U.S. Senate has been working overtime and on weekends to push through legislation that will increase the government’s role in health care, expand Medicare and do little to control costs in our health care system. In fact, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that the Senate bill will increase national health care expenditures by $234 billion, or 0.7 percent, over the next decade.   That doesn’t sound like the kind of health care reform we need.

But the Senate bill is only one part of the equation.  The House of Representatives passed their own version of health care reform that includes a strong public options as well as higher taxes on businesses.  Members of the House have made clear they aren’t going to simply accept what the Senate passes as the final bill, setting up a show down between the House and Senate.

Slowing down the process is a good thing.  In their race to reform our health care system, Congress is replacing our current system with one that will likely result in higher costs and less choice for individuals and businesses. 

Instead, Congress should take a more incremental approach that addresses the real problems including costs and access.  But do it in a way that limits the government’s role by allowing small businesses to cross state lines to access health care for their employees, providing tax incentives for coverage and taking steps that will actually reduce the cost of our health care system.

Tell me what you think?

2 Responses to “Health Care Blog”

1. cliff jones Says:
   December 16th, 2009 at 9:38 pm

   I agree! I think if congress is going to force a health care program upon the American people. THEN it should be forced to use the same health care program and not be allowed to have a different program! Sorry if it is good enough for me then it surely good enough for our hired help (CONGRESS!)

2. Liz Says:
   December 22nd, 2009 at 10:56 am

   Well, you know now that Reid is getting his wish. It seems like a disaster to me — and it’s not that I don’t think our current system is perfect. I just think the massive costs in this, and the inevitable limits of choice (plus a whole bunch of other things, include the bribes paid to a bunch of senators who don’t happen to represent my own state of Illinois) are terrible and will make things much worse. This seems like government intervention, as opposed to some other things, such as CDHP which has been shown to lower insurance costs. (Just read about a study on another site that shows once again that spending goes down when you put people in charge of certain aspects of their health care dollars.) The book “Bend the Health Care Trend” is all about CDHP and how to implement it in the workplace, plus practical tips for employers in building a culture of health and wellness that benefits all of their employees. (I wish we could get credit for our health club membership! Some places do that. And I go 5 times a week.) The consumer-driven plans lower costs. Why aren’t we looking at that?

Leave a Reply