The first draft of Senator Kennedy's health reform bill finds it to be totally inadequate.
INITIAL COMMENTS ON THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE KENNEDY
HEALTH REFORM BILL RELEASED JUNE 9, 2009
June 9, 2009
A quick review of this draft legislation, which comes in at over 600 pages, shows it to be a weak kneed, totally inadequate push for a Massachusetts type reform plan. It consists primarily of a design to promote (even by rendering fines) every citizen buying into an eligible private insurance program. It mandates insurers to use community, age, family or actuarial rating without discrimination by sex or prior health expenses or health condition and to accept all individual or employer applicants. There are fines for not having an approved insurance plan and subsidies for poor folks. It establishes a "Gateway" for access to insurance in each state. It mandates "no changes to existing coverage."
The bill’s cost control effort consists of establishing "clear accounting" by insurance companies and mandating premium rebates for expenses not directed to providing medical services.
On page 111 the Title "Public Health Insurance Option" is left blank.
All of the bill somewhere after page 200 raises non reform issues as if to divert attention from how little reform it creates. It has language which would expand or revise existing legislation to promote evaluating medical technology, improving use of information technology, generally improving the quality of medical care, promoting disease prevention, funding and improving local health departments, improving and expanding the health care work force, and preventing fraud and abuse. The one exception to this is the establishment and funding of a new program for "Community Living Assistance (CLASS)" to subsidize and pay for home and family care for the disabled and infirm to prevent their being institutionalized.
In sum, in my opinion this is the result of a great deal of debate and discussion which produced nothing real. It is a gigantic financial and enrollment subsidy to private insurance companies, while demanding very little from them. It is totally non threatening to insurance companies. It produces none of the management and economic efficiencies which a single payer, Medicare for All, type reform would create, that is, there is no quantum cost control. It does not make it easier to practice medicine or run a hospital. It does not mandate universal coverage anywhere. In short, it looks rather inadequate to meet our current challenges.