President Obama's weekly address centers on healthcare reform and a bipartisan summit to deal with it.
[Transcript]
A couple of thoughts enter my mind. First, that the following really shoots down the GOP argument that we ought to throw everything out the window and start over:
These aren't things that might happen or that will happen if we don't do anything, these are things that have happened. The Republican line can be expressed as "What's the big rush?" -- which seems more than a little out of touch. The ship is sinking and they're arguing that we ought to build new buckets to bail with, because they don't like the ones we have now.
The second thing that struck me was this:
The second one may be a good idea, but the first one is definitely not. Insurance companies operate under different laws in different states, meaning that allowing insurers to compete across state lines is a de facto deregulation of an industry that's in need of more regulation, not less. Companies will relocate in the least regulated states, meaning layoffs in other states. Other states will change their laws. Competition won't be among insurers, it'll be among states. The president adds the caveat that he'd be open to this "so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people," but that would require some sort of national board and new federal regulations -- something Republicans would never go for. Without some sort of national standard, the least regulated state becomes the national standard and we begin a race to the bottom.
Still, I suppose this highlights the president's party's attempts at bipartisanship and the other party's refusal of it. But you'd think that would be obvious by now. Here's hoping this bad idea dies.
[Transcript]
A couple of thoughts enter my mind. First, that the following really shoots down the GOP argument that we ought to throw everything out the window and start over:
The other week, men and women across California opened up their mailboxes to find a letter from Anthem Blue Cross. The news inside was jaw-dropping. Anthem was alerting almost a million of its customers that it would be raising premiums by an average of 25 percent, with about a quarter of folks likely to see their rates go up by anywhere from 35 to 39 percent.
Now, after their announcement stirred public outcry, Anthem agreed to delay their rate hike until May 1st while the situation is reviewed by the state of California. But it’s not just Californians who are being hit by rate hikes. In Kansas, one insurance company raised premiums by 10 to 20 percent only after asking to raise them by 20 to 30 percent. Last year, Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield raised rates by 22 percent after asking to raise them by up to 56 percent. And in Maine, Anthem is asking to raise rates for some folks by about 23 percent.
The bottom line is that the status quo is good for the insurance industry and bad for America. Over the past year, as families and small business owners have struggled to pay soaring health care costs, and as millions of Americans lost their coverage, the five largest insurers made record profits of over $12 billion.
And as bad as things are today, they’ll only get worse if we fail to act...
These aren't things that might happen or that will happen if we don't do anything, these are things that have happened. The Republican line can be expressed as "What's the big rush?" -- which seems more than a little out of touch. The ship is sinking and they're arguing that we ought to build new buckets to bail with, because they don't like the ones we have now.
The second thing that struck me was this:
It’s in [the spirit of bipartisanship] that I have sought out and supported Republican ideas on reform from the very beginning. Some Republicans want to allow Americans to purchase insurance from a company in another state to give people more choices and bring down costs. Some Republicans have also suggested giving small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big companies and labor unions do. I think both of these are good ideas – so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people. I hope Democrats and Republicans can come together next week around these and other ideas.
The second one may be a good idea, but the first one is definitely not. Insurance companies operate under different laws in different states, meaning that allowing insurers to compete across state lines is a de facto deregulation of an industry that's in need of more regulation, not less. Companies will relocate in the least regulated states, meaning layoffs in other states. Other states will change their laws. Competition won't be among insurers, it'll be among states. The president adds the caveat that he'd be open to this "so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people," but that would require some sort of national board and new federal regulations -- something Republicans would never go for. Without some sort of national standard, the least regulated state becomes the national standard and we begin a race to the bottom.
Still, I suppose this highlights the president's party's attempts at bipartisanship and the other party's refusal of it. But you'd think that would be obvious by now. Here's hoping this bad idea dies.
