Thoughts on America, Part III

 Originally posted to MySpace, September 21, 2010

Kelly claims: Liberals have absolutely no solutions...they make no effort to try and make a positive difference.

Facts: Republican answers to problems currently being tackled by the Obama Administration are in fact non-solutions. Let’s look at an example: health insurance reform. One Republican idea was to let people buy insurance outside the state they live in.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas has a non-HSA plan, PPO Select Choice, with a $2,500 deductible, a $242 premium, and 80% coverage. BCBS of New Mexico does not offer the same plan, but it does have one (Blue Direct Enhanced, 80% coverage) with a $2,000 deductible and a $207 premium. Sounds like a deal, but how much would I sacrifice by going with what’s cheaper?

If interstate insurance were permitted, an insurance co. like Blue Cross would most likely create uniform insurance packages to make comparison shopping easier. But with that kind of insurance market, would it charge 50 different prices for the same product? Hardly. It’s going to base those plans in whatever state makes them cheapest, has the fewest mandates, and ensures them the highest profit.

Why aren’t insurance companies allowed to sell to people in other states anyway? Laws, right? What would it take to change those laws? An act of Congress. Wouldn’t it be ironic for the government to attempt to pass a law allowing cross-border insurance policies and then hear Republicans protesting interference with states’ rights? We both know that’s exactly what they would do.

Deregulating the industry to the extent that allows patients to buy out-of-state policies still wouldn’t solve a fundamental problem with America’s system: the uninsured. Whether they are being denied insurance or they simply can’t afford it, too many people in this country have no way to pay for sickness or injury. Allowing cross-border insurance isn’t going to change that. Insurance companies would simply have a larger pool of young, healthy (low-risk) people to add to their rolls as well as larger numbers of people with pre-existing conditions or habits they consider too risky to insure (http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/the-gaggle/2010/02/18/selling-health-insurance-across-state-lines-won-t-work.html).

Only a law forcing insurance companies to extend coverage to those who can’t otherwise obtain it changes this situation. Remember what I said about people being unwilling or too stupid to exercise common sense? They need a guiding hand to point them in the right direction. This is one area where the federal government needed to step in and lay down a framework for the insurance market that ensures EVERYONE is covered at an affordable price. It had long been obvious the insurance industry was not going to resolve the matter by itself.

The Republican proposal to help people like me with pre-existing conditions was “Universal Access Program”. I find the term universal profoundly interesting. Wasn’t that word (much like liberal) used by conservatives in a negative context? Didn’t they declare “universal coverage” to mean a “government takeover” of health care? What were these programs supposed to do? Expand the high-risk pools (http://www.gop.gov/solutions/healthcare). As it stands, the Texas Health Insurance Pool would charge me $485 a month ($2,500 deductible) for insurance. Gee, thanks a lot, Republicans. What in the world makes them think the average person can afford that?

When was the last time you saw a Republican President attempting health care reform? When was the last time the insurance industry said, “We have too many uninsured people in this country. We need to fix that. Let’s start offering affordable coverage for pre-existing conditions”? I would certainly call Obama’s initiatives a good start at making a positive difference.