Sebelius: Health Care Reform not a "prelude to a single-payer system"

[grantcart]

Very very disappointing

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/05/06/1924374.aspx

Sebelius spent much of the hearing trying to reassure skeptical Republicans that a public insurance option would not undermine the existing private system and was not a "prelude" to a single-payer, government-run system. But she repeatedly said the playing field now is not level -- because private insurers can "cherry pick" the healthiest patients to make a profit while declining coverage to the sickest.

Sebelius said the administration was committed to ensuring that Americans who are happy with their coverage now would not be forced to switch companies or switch doctors. She also implied that changing the payment system to focus more on "outcome" -- i.e. does the care make people healthier? -- was a philosophy that any reform plan should embrace.

The Band Aid approach will not work.

[bluestateguy]

1. She has to say that.

It's our job to make sure that that is how it actually works out in practice.

[ShortnFiery]

2. Think again KATHY! You work for US.

:evilgrin:

[vaberella]

3. It's not a "band aid" approach. Unfortunately I disagree with you GC.

I said this on another thread on this board in regards to Sebelius' statements and i'll post it here.

Eventually Crowd-Out will happen no matter what. So private insurance will eventually be driven out of business because they wouldn't be able to compete and even though businesses get tax breaks from using private insurance...Common sense will say they will drop private insurance by having their workers on the government plan affecting the private market and resulting in crowd-out. Fine. So eventually the government entity will reighn supreme in the end. However, before the full on group of people join the government plan---it will inject major competition in the market and lower cost basically dismantling Big Pharma who will have to lower costs. In the end everyone wins EXCEPT private insurance.


Her approach was correct and she was on the ball. You have to think sensibly. Politics and the ficklness of the American people needs to be taken at hand...and it will lead to something very different which is similar to what is in England.

[grantcart]

6. I hope that you are right

The reporting on her statement, however, indicates that she is not saying that "crowding out" is not a possible outcome but that they are working to ensure that "crowding out" will not occur. Sebelius spent much of the hearing trying to reassure skeptical Republicans. She didn't spend much of her time warning Republicans that private companies would have to compete.

I had always assumed that Obama intended to back door a public alternative that would push the private companies out, but that does not seem to be the direction they are taking.

I am somewhat amazed that we do not make a stronger effort as a party to educate the American electorate that in all of the other modern democracies conservatives, liberals and moderates all agree in the public role of health care in one way or another;

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8392788

[vaberella]

7. The thing is she's betting on the Republicans stupidity when it comes to economics.

She'll win. Crowding-out is an inevitable actuality. Even President Obama stated as such at the Health Summit, which you can actually go back to and he specifically said that the concerns of many people are about the case of crowding-out and he knew that it's cause for concern...well for those who are hurt from it. Eventually what will happen is that the only entities hurt are private insurance and Big Pharma.

Most of the people working for both areas will move to working for the government very quickly...adding to their demise. Most of the people working in both areas are health officials or have some sort of degree in health. When the government public plan is added that will open the door for new jobs..most of them will flood those sectors when they see 46 million people on it not counting future people from those who are part of cobra---that will find the public option a better plan and all the people who are part of small businesses who can't afford to provide health care and will toss them there in order to mitigate their costs. Added to those...if it's open to all those people out there you have those on medicaid who will flood the system as well. That could lead to a good 150+ million people on the government plan and subsequently whiping out the private insurance.

Everything here is done to ensure that what happened to HRC doesn't happen again. She wanted universal health care...but she ran on JUST that platform. Had she proposed a plan in the 90s that was similar to her plan today and/or O's plan currently she would be sorted and we'd probably one step closer to an eventual single payer. However, she didn't go for "low hanging fruit" which is unfortunately the demise of the idiotically idealistic progressives who want one way and only one way. In order to sell your position you have to show that an aspect of it works. This way O implements a situation that will make everyone who wants private insurance happy and they get to keep their nonsense. The flood of people who are part of the public option will however cancel them out because more doctors will buy into this plan and doctors will actually get paid in full for anything they do...unlike the case with health insurance and the government will fit the bill. Plus when they show that people are doing well on the national system and this is an option with plenty of leeway...it will make those who are still on private plans switch over because of cost of maintaining private insurance. They'll see private insurance as subsequently worthless and taking their money.

Further making their role obsolete. O however is trying to use language to make to make sure his shit passes. Because if he runs on single payer NOTHING will get done and we both know it. Sure the people want it, but the Dems who are bought by Big Pharma and private insurance added to ALL the repubs will snuff his plan out like it was nothing...the same with HRC.

He's being realistic.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. I'm o.k. with there being "choice"

as long as the choice isn't simply between which private insurance vultures I'd rather have gnawing at my bones. If the fat cats want to keep their "gold plated" private insurance, fine by me. I think that most of us will be fine with being able to at least try "socialized medicine" and see how it stacks up against our current "system". At the very least government-run health coverage can't be any worse than what we're being forced to endure now and it will actually probably be a whole lot better once it gets going. In fact, I would expect it to be better given how frightened the conservatives seem to be of it (despite their constant denigration of public health systems in other countries).

[lamp_shade]

5. The hearing repeats at 8:00 on cspan2