Article/Column

The time for healthcare reform is now

by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings

The most obvious fact about the movement to reform our healthcare system is a reality that opponents of reform cannot avoid.  The current spectrum of private and public insurance plans cannot be sustained.

The economists agree.  If we do not reform our complicated system now, we will be spending 1 out of every $5 on health care in 10 years; and, in 30 years, it will be 1 out of every $3.

No society, however affluent, could afford those costs.

The second unavoidable fact is more immediate and more personal for the tens of millions of Americans who, currently, are uninsured or have no health insurance at all.  When families lose their health insurance, they are more likely to lose their homes, go bankrupt or even die.

So, there also is a moral equation involved in our national debate about healthcare reform.

These realities, both the practical and the moral, are why President Obama and the rest of us who are working so hard to reform healthcare stress two imperatives: We must both expand access to affordable health insurance to all Americans and be prudent about the money that we spend.
 
These objectives of reform make sense to most Americans.  That is why the American people voted for healthcare reform in the presidential elections last year.  It also is why a recent Quinnipiac University poll found 62 percent in favor of giving people the option of a government insurance plan, while only 32 percent are opposed.

I agree.  The public option available in America's Affordable Health Choices Act [H.R. 3200] that now is under consideration by the House of Representatives would both expand access to insurance coverage and provide competition to private insurers, encouraging innovation and cost containment.

It should not be surprising, therefore, that the big private insurance companies - for all their talk about the benefits of competition - are spending millions to defeat competition when their profits are at stake.

Whether we like it or not, the American people are engaged in a political campaign as furious - and as consequential - as the presidential race last year.  I have confidence that the common good can prevail in this campaign - but, just as we did in 2008, we must keep our eyes on the prize.

Here are the harsh realities about the current, failed healthcare system that we must confront and overcome.

During the past decade, insurance premiums have doubled; out-of-pocket expenses have shot up by one-third; and deductibles have continued to steadily climb.

People who become ill, all too often find themselves in desperate situations because their insurance companies drop their coverage.  Then, they find themselves unable to get new insurance because of a “pre-existing condition.”

Meanwhile, as Maryland families are being battered by skyrocketing health costs, the insurance companies and their executives are reaping windfall profits.

We have the most expensive healthcare system in the world, spending almost 50% more per person than the next most costly nation.  Yet, we are no healthier for it.

The health care reform bill [H.R. 3200] that we are debating in the House of Representatives would reform the current system while allowing everyone the choice to keep any health insurance that already covers them.

Allow me to repeat.  If you are satisfied with the insurance coverage you already have, you would be able to keep that insurance - with additional protections provided by law.

Our proposal also would provide you with additional protection against rapidly increasing premiums and deductibles - and it would also limit the reductions in coverage that are now causing so much pain.

We would prevent companies from dropping your coverage if you get too sick - and you would still be able to have insurance coverage if you lose your job or move.

Our legislation would limit the amount your insurance company could force you to pay out of your own pocket for medical costs.  It would require coverage for critical preventive care like check-ups and mammograms.

No insurance company would be able to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition - and, if you have a low or moderate income, the government would help you afford health coverage.

Here in Maryland's 7th Congressional District alone, H.R. 3200 would allow 4,700 seniors to avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D that leaves many seniors unable to pay for their prescription drugs.

Nearly 1,000 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs.

Health care providers in the 7th District would receive payment for $221 million in uncompensated care each year.

Perhaps most important of all, 60,000 uninsured individuals in our community would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.

This much is clear.  We must do better.

As difficult and heated as the healthcare debate has become, we simply cannot afford to fail.

The time for reform is now.  Both the health of our families and our nation's morality are at stake.

As I told then President Bush after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, "We cannot let it be said that the difference between those who live and those who die in our America is their poverty, their age or the color of their skin."

- The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.