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July 10 Overview of the Kennedy-Dodd Public Healthcare PlanYes, I am still EXTREMELY busy. However, after I discovered today's featured article from BusinessWeek, I knew I had to take the time to write this post.
As I stated in my April 14th post, I am passionate about healthcare reform. I think it's safe to say that most Americans agree that we need to find a way to reign in the prohibitively high cost of premiums individuals and businesses face. Despite the national consensus regarding the need for reform, there is a big divide over whether or not it should include a government-controlled health insurance agency a.k.a. the "public option". The detractors of the "public option" fear that the private insurance companies would not be able to successfully compete with the government (because of the government's access to unlimited funds). Further, there are additional concerns regarding goverment in the role of government in the doctor-patient relationship, reduction in the quality of health care that provided, the increase in deficit spending if the "public option" was enacted and fear that most employers would use the public option (insead of using private heath insurance) to provide heathcare for workers.
Though there a few proposals floating around, the featured article focuses on the healthcare plan co-sponsored by Senators Kennedy and Dodd. Though this plan includes a "public option" it will cost less than $600 billion and would cover 97% of Americans. ("By contrast, an earlier, incomplete proposal carried a price tag of roughly $1 trillion and would have left millions uninsured..."). The author of the featured article also offered insight into how this plan would work via comparison with the government mandated health insurance plan currently in place in the Commonwealth of Massachusets. (See April 14th post an overview of the Massacushtts plan).
I know that closely monitoring health reform is not at the top of your agenda at the moment. But, we should not be short-sighted about this. You and I both know that the annual double-digit percentage increase in healthcare premium is unsustainble. How can business people turn a profit when this expense is so incredibly high? So please, take a stand. Now is the time to make your voices heard. I know that I will do everything in my power to see change in this area. I am encoraging you to join me in this effort.
New Dem health plan has public option, lower costBy DAVID ESPO, The Associated Press July 2, 2009, 12:29AM ET The plan carries a 10-year price tag of slightly over $600 billion, and would lead toward an estimated 97 percent of all Americans having coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and Chris Dodd said in a letter to other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The AP obtained a copy. By contrast, an earlier, incomplete proposal carried a price tag of roughly $1 trillion and would have left millions uninsured, CBO analysts said in mid-June. TrackbacksThe trackback URL for this entry is: http://smallbizcoop.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!CFF20A3C12635897!263.trak Weblogs that reference this entry
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