By Phil Kadner
Southtown Star (Tinley Park, Ill.), April 6, 2012
Let the national health care debate begin again.
It appears that the U.S. Supreme Court is on the verge of striking down the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare).
What people seem to forget, especially Republicans, is that President Obama was elected in part on a promise to pass a national health care bill.
Regular readers are aware that I never liked the bill. I felt it was a bastardized version of national health care and gave far too much power and money to private insurers.
For those ready to rejoice at the defeat of Obamacare because they feel there’s no need for a radical change, let’s review the reasons that most Americans supported the idea.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people without health insurance rose to more than 50 million, an all-time high, in 2010. That’s 16.7 percent of the population.
A more recent study by the Commonwealth Fund puts the number of people without health insurance at 52 million. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pegs the number at 59 million. About 20 million of these people, according to some estimates, have jobs.
During an economic recession, when many businesses hang on by a thread, they cut costs and benefits as well as jobs. Of course, some employers are just plain greedy and see an opportunity to make a buck at the expense of workers in a job market where employees have few options.
But even people whose employers still provide health insurance have seen their premiums and deductibles skyrocket.
A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation says employee contributions for family health insurance coverage increased from an average of $1,787 in 2001 to $4,129 in 2011.
In addition to higher premiums, which come from payroll deductions, employees found that their policies also had higher deductibles. Aon Hewitt, a large Chicago benefits company, reported that out-of-pocket costs (including co-payments) were projected to jump 13 percent to an average of $2,275 in 2012 from $2,007 in 2011.
People who hate government taxes don’t seem bothered by businesses taking a bigger chunk out of taxpayers’ wallets.
In addition to rising costs, there’s the people who have private health insurance policies and discover they’ve been denied coverage once they need medical help.
That’s why Americans demanded national health care in 2008.
I could add that American companies are at a disadvantage in the international marketplace because every other industrialized nation pays for its citizens’ medical care, allowing their manufacturers to offer cheaper products because labor costs are lower.
People who say they like the old American health insurance system either refuse to understand that it has gone away or are shills for the health insurance industry.
One option often recommended as an alternative to national health care is an individual health insurance fund similar to a 401(k). You run up your savings in the account until you get sick.
Have any of those people ever gotten seriously ill? Have they ever seen a hospital bill? You can go through $250,000 pretty quickly.
And then there are those who say the marketplace should be allowed to do its work. Really? Have you ever tried to buy medical insurance on your own? Are you capable of understanding the language? Have you any idea of how much such a policy would cost?
Finally, there are those who claim that national health insurance would allow government panels to decide who gets care and who does not. Who do you think makes such decisions now? Panels paid by insurance companies who are in the business of making a profit, that’s who.
And in the past, there have been cases of decisions being made by an office clerk who has been instructed to deny any large claims coming across her desk in the hope that the insured will not appeal.
No plan for national health care will be perfect. There will be problems, some of them major problems.
But at least Americans will be able to blame government officials and hold them accountable. They may even be able to make changes in the rules by lobbying their congressmen.
What control do you have over private health insurance companies?
And if you have a pre-existing condition, just try getting an insurance company to take you on.
I’m looking forward to another debate on national health care. This time, I want the country to get it right.