Pop quiz: What is the goal of health care reform?
(A) Expand access
(B) Lower costs
If you answered (A), odds are you’re a Democrat.
If you answered (B), you’re probably a Republican.
But if you reject the idea that you have to choose, you’re on the right track.
Supporters of the president’s plan, which is essentially the bill that passed in the Senate, prize a Congressional Budget Office report showing that 31 million uninsured Americans gain access to coverage under his bill.
However, supporters of this proposal avoid discussing the CBO’s projection that it increases the cost of health insurance. They also avoid the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report estimating “that total national health expenditures under this bill would increase by ... $234 billion” over 10 years.
Likewise, Republicans highlight a CBO report showing that the House GOP bill will reduce insurance premiums by 10 percent. In turn, Democrats criticize the GOP plan because it extends coverage to fewer Americans than their bill.
Returning to the quiz: Which sentence makes sense?
(A) Health care is inaccessible because it is unaffordable.
(B) Health care is unaffordable because it is inaccessible.
Clearly (A), health care is inaccessible because it is unaffordable. The reverse is nonsensical.
Therein lies the problem with the president’s plan. It attempts to provide access without addressing cost.
When campaigning, Barack Obama pledged that his health care plan would “save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on medical expenditures” and provide “quality, affordable and portable health coverage for all.”
As a physician who has treated uninsured patients at a public hospital for 20 years, I applaud the president’s goals. Unfortunately, as economists at the CBO and the CMS explain, his plan fails to achieve them.
The key to expanding access is lowering costs. The key to lowering costs is empowering patients.
