Model health care reform on Medicare Part D

Mercury News

By Peter Pitts

10/27/2009
 

Democrats who think their leading health care proposals might actually get passed are fooling themselves. Opposition to their agenda isn't isolated to a few town hall meetings and protests. It's widespread across the country. A recent Rasmussen poll found that a whopping 56 percent of Americans are against the Democratic reform legislation.
 

It's time to go back to the drawing board. The president and Congress need to craft a brand new, moderate health plan that consists of practically minded proposals capable of generating broad support across both parties.
 

The primary goal of a revamped bill should be bringing down costs, which poll after poll finds is the primary concern of most Americans when it comes to health care. Recent political developments have laid the groundwork for just such a bill.
 

Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told a talk radio program last month that Blue Dog Democrats — a coalition of 52 moderate Democratic members in the House — have been reaching out to him and other Republicans to negotiate alternative health care legislation. Cassidy explained: "Some of my Democratic colleagues are approaching me now, saying we are not going to vote for H.R. 3200 (the main Democratic House bill); can we talk about some of our ideas."
 

Americans balked at the current slate of Democratic reforms because they're government-heavy and expensive. Sen. Max Baucus' bill, for instance, comes with an $856 billion price tag and institutes expansive new regulatory controls on insurers, caregivers and patients.
 

Health care reform is needed. Radical reform is not. Therefore, lawmakers' best bet is to build on existing programs already proven to succeed. The best example of such a program is Medicare Part D, the federal prescription drug coverage program for seniors. Part D has an innovative structure: private insurers administer the plans, while the government provides cost subsidies.
 

Created in 2006, Part D has proved to be one of the most popular and successful government programs ever. The competition among insurers for customers has led to significantly lower drug prices for beneficiaries. In fact, the total cost of Part D is nearly a third lower than initial budget projections. Seniors get to choose among dozens of competing plans, customizing their coverage to fit their particular medical and financial needs.
 

Part D has a 92 percent satisfaction rate among its beneficiaries. And the program has reduced the number of seniors without a drug plan by 17 percent. It provides a road map for how to expand coverage in this country without drastic government intervention in the health care sector.
 

Today, there are 8 million to 15 million chronically uninsured Americans who are priced out of the private insurance market but don't qualify for government assistance. These people undoubtedly need help. Instead of radically reshaping nearly 20 percent of the U.S. economy, lawmakers should create a new health insurance program modeled on Part D open to this vulnerable population. The plans would be privately administered but publicly subsidized, and customers could choose the coverage that's best for them.