A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll has come out showing that Americans care far more about "affordability of decent health care for all Americans now", than abstract things like "public option".
In short, they want results on affordability, now. That's what they insist this whole drama IS about-
The number one issue for Americans of ALL parties is "making sure affordable insurance is available to the average consumer (79 percent named this as "extremely" or "very" important)."
Washington seems to be turning a deaf ear to the affordability goal because, it would require influential corporate donors to sacrifice, instead of citizens.
Also, its increasingly clear to me, at least that it's impossible to achieve, and has been so for years, without going to single payer. Without the cost control of single payer, the huge outlays that would require would be politically infeasible, many times more than the $300/year per capita in the current bill.
Excerpt:
"Public Has Many Priorities for Reform
The public has not coalesced around one goal in a complex process aimed at tackling many priorities simultaneously.
Asked which elements of health reform they ranked as most important to them personally, the most popular items. This should come as a rude awakening to politicians who have been trying to downplay affordability and instead, make it about "choice" (They hope to then pass the blame on to the victims of their failure to act on declining affordability and quality even if none of the available "choices" presented in 2014 are even remotely affordable)
were:
- making sure affordable insurance is available to the average consumer (79 percent named this as "extremely" or "very" important) (this is unlikely to be possible without major changes)
- requiring insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions (71 percent) (this is unlikely to be possible without major changes, whats going to happen is that prices on those over 40 and possibly, other groups will soar and if Massachusetts experience is a guide, leave the ttal costs of decent healthcare still unaffordable to those who need it the most, those over 40 and especially those with chronic health conditions)
- not adding to the budget deficit (69 percent)
- filling the so-called donut hole in Medicare prescription drug coverage (68 percent)
- providing enough government financial help so that as many uninsured people as possible can get coverage (65 percent) (this is unlikely to be possible without major changes)
"
Here's a companion article..
For Public, Affordability A Key Issue In Health Bill Kaiser Health News
Here's a quote from the very beginning.
"Lawmakers debating health care on Capitol Hill have spent months worrying about the potential cost. But mostly it's been the total cost of the bill, not how much individual families who could soon be required to buy insurance for the first time might have to pay.
That could be a costly miscalculation, says health economist Jonathan Gruber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Let's put it this way: It is 10 times as important as the public option and has received one one-hundredth of the coverage," he says."
The New York Times also in "From the Hospital Room to Bankruptcy Court" explores how few Americans pondering an insurance-centric health bill's mandated underinsurance - realize that non-Cadillac plans only pay 50-70% or often, even less.. That means huge costs when you go to te hospital. Most in bankruptcy "have insurance" but even people with "insurance" now are being exposed to huge costs - If they realized the tragedy that is unfolding, as the rising number of health care bankruptcies occur to people with insurance they might be supporting different more European or Canadian approaches to reform.
Americans who often, have not traveled much, don't realize how large the uncovered costs in the US are compared to elsewhere, or that Americans who miss payments often find themselves suddenly facing six figure bills.
Truly, The Devils in the Details