Dear Friend,

  As the Obama Administration and the Democratic leadership of Congress continue to push ahead with a global warming bill, health care reform has also risen to the top of the agenda. Health care affects every person in the country. Most of us agree that costs are rising too fast, but every one of us wants our loved ones to get the best care possible when they need it. There really are two parts of the issue. One is the health care system – the care we receive and how it is delivered. The other is how we pay for health care.

  Polls show that the vast majority of Americans are pleased with their health care.   People from all around the world come here to receive the best care available anywhere.

  The way we pay for health care is another matter. Nearly everyone agrees that we must reform health care financing because the current path is simply unsustainable. Health insurance premiums are rising so fast that more and more people are going without insurance. The Medicare Trust Fund, which pays hospitals bills and is funded through payroll taxes, will be bankrupt by 2017.   Yet, often the payments to doctors do not cover their cost of delivering the care.

  Our nation is approaching a decision point on health care. We must make changes; no one believes we can leave things just as they are. We must decide whether to strengthen the private market system based on individual decision making or to have more governmental control over the system. I believe that we will move one way or the other, and if we move toward more government involvement, it will be very difficult to reverse course.

  I have included some interesting statistics that help give a clearer picture of our current health care system. I have also summarized some of the major proposals being discussed in Congress. As always, I appreciate your input, especially on this crucial subject that touches us all.

Sincerely,

Health Care By The Numbers

Health Insurance

• Employer-provided group health coverage is the largest source of health insurance, covering 61% of the 261.4 million non-elderly Americans. Medicaid or other public programs (16%) and private individual health insurance (6%) are also sources of coverage. (Source: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Health Insurance Coverage in America, 2007, October 2008.)

• More than nine in ten Americans with health coverage believe their existing plan is “good” (51%) or “adequate” (41%) for meeting their current and projected health needs. (Source: National Public Radio, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard School of Public Health, The Public and the Health Care Delivery System, results of telephone poll of 1,238 randomly selected Americans on March 12-22, 2009.)

• The average cost of group health insurance in 2008 totaled $4,704 for individuals and $12,680 for families; the employee share of premiums totaled $721 for individuals and $3,354 for families. (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation-Health Research and Education Trust, Employer Health Benefits 2008 Annual Survey, September 2008, exhibit B, p. 14.)

To read more health care facts, please click here.

Spending

Since January, Congress and the Obama Administration have been spending money at an incredible pace. Any consideration of health care reform and other major issues must take into account our dire financial situation. 

The White House estimated in May that the federal budget deficit for 2009 will be at least $1.84 trillion. That is more than four times the deficit for 2008, which was $459 billion. 

Total federal spending in 2009 will be about $4 trillion, which is 28% of GDP and the highest since World War II.

Among the spending bills passed so far this year are:

• $350 billion for the second part of the TARP program, used for the auto bailout and other purposes.
• $787 billion for the stimulus bill (H.R. 1).
• $409 billion for the omnibus spending bill for 2009 (H.R. 1105).

Not yet passed:

• Global Warming (H.R. 2454) passed the House, and is pending in the Senate- cost to consumers and businesses more than $100 billion a year.
• Health care reform- cost estimates of $1 trillion and more. 

Mac's Health Care Bills

Health care reform must be about more than cost. It should also be about helping people be well and live more productive lives. I recently introduced a package of health care reform bills aimed at addressing some of the significant problems in our current health care system. To read about Mac's health care bills, please click here.

The Proposals

There are two key elements to the health care reform bills pushed by the Obama Administration and the Democratic leadership of Congress. 

One is a new government health insurance plan that would be available to everyone. Most observers have no doubt that such a plan will soon drive private insurance out of the business with only the government plan left. It is not clear how such a plan would be paid for.

The other element is a board or commission that would set the standards for medical care. The members would have ten year terms and be responsible for choosing what procedures would be covered by the government insurance plan. It may also set standards that doctors would be strongly encouraged, if not required, to follow in treating patients. The judgment of this government board would take much of the discretion and judgment out of the hands of doctors and patients. Some have called it a "Federal Reserve  Board for health care."

1. The House Democrat Health Care Plan
2. The Kennedy Health Care Plan
3. Principles for Real Health Care Reform