Health Insurance Articles
VP Biden Champions Healthcare Overhaul
2009-10-05
Healthcare overhaul has drawn Vice President Joe Biden into this dynamic debate. His comments echo the stress, strain and struggle of ordinary Americans contending with constantly escalating individual health insurance coverage premiums, rapidly increasing medical costs for those with insurance, and lack of access to medical care for those without. It is his belief that health care reform is the "foremost economic and moral issue" facing the nation.
Without significant reform, healthcare costs will simply overwhelm Americans while decimating the federal budget. Across all states, health insurance premiums have increased between 90 and 150 percent over the last ten years. They have increased much faster than either inflation or wages. Doing nothing is not acceptable because, ten years from now, Americans will be spending one in five of every dollar earned on health care. Money spent on healthcare is money not available for spending on education, homes, or other consumer goods.
According to Mr. Biden, soaring costs of health coverage damage families, hurt small businesses, and compromise our globally competitive position as a nation. It is essential to fundamentally restructure our employer-based system of health care. Small business owners are faced with making not only very difficult choices, but unnecessary decisions as well. They must choose among providing coverage that increasingly consumes more of their bottom line; providing no coverage; or, increasing the price of their products or services causing them to be less competitive in the marketplace. Increasing health costs affects all businesses, small or global, impacting our ability to compete internationally. To ensure costs to families and businesses are controlled, regulation of health insurance companies is necessary. Companies must be held accountable rather than allowed to operate free from rules. By having all companies follow the same basic rules, no company will be at a disadvantage.
Vice President Biden delineated a set of "good ground rules" which, if adopted, will restore soundness to our health care system. The rules include: covering pre-existing conditions so all Americans have access to comprehensive benefits at reasonable premiums; eliminating the sharing of the costs of preventive care; discontinuing discrimination based upon gender; guaranteeing insurance renewal; making extended coverage available for young adults; dropping both annual and lifetime coverage caps; eliminating excessive co-pays, out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles; and, stopping the practice of dropping coverage for the seriously ill. If adopted, the rules he advocates will provide accessible and affordable health care for all Americans by using the health care system already in-place and incorporating existing doctors, plans, and providers. Mr. Biden believes we have an overwhelming opportunity, at this moment, to overhaul our health care system for the benefit of consumers, businesses and, ultimately, the nation.
