The word is trickling out that the Senate has reached a healthcare agreement that does not include a public option. In lieu of the public option, it is suggested that medicare be opened up to those 55 and over - they would have to pay a premium - and medicare would be increased to cover those making up to 130% (or thereabouts) of the federal poverty rate. While this option would help those who currently have no health insurance, it does nothing to help those of us covered by increasingly expensive employer plans. Without a public option to provide competition to private insurers, how will they ever have any incentive to lower prices?
Healthcare is not just about providing coverage to those who do not have it, it is also about the rest of us who are paying through the nose for it; employers and employees alike. What is truly sad is that the general consensus is that a bad bill is better than no bill? Of this, I am very afraid. If healthcare costs increase over the next 5 years at the same rate as the last 5, we are doomed. How much more of our paychecks will be lost to premiums and taxes?
Though we have known for quite some time that the special interests were winning, it is pretty clear to me now that they have won; they have completely hijacked the will of the people. After all, there has been very little legislation coming out of Congress that has been good for the average citizen for quite some time. As one letter writer to the Times Editorial page put it, "Maybe we should elect the lobbyists directly to Congress and skip the charade." (11/29/09)
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