16M low-income Americans receiving public health insurance is a progressive accomplishment

[babylonsister]

http://www.openleft.com/diary/18019/16m-lowincome-americans-receiving-public-health-insurance-is-a-progressive-accomplishment

16M low-income Americans receiving public health insurance is a progressive accomplishment
by: Chris Bowers
Fri Mar 26, 2010 at 12:43


You won't find me claiming that the health reforms that passed into law this week are great triumphs over corporate interests. Also, I agree with David Dayen that the student loan reforms that passed into law this week are clearer-cut victory for progressives than the health reform bill. Those reforms they effectively nationalize the student loan industry, by cancelling tens of billions in public subsidies to private student loan companies and replacing them with a student loan public option.

However, the claim that there is nothing progressive about the health insurance reforms that passed into law doesn't add up. Because of this legislation, it is estimated that 16,000,000 additional low-income Americans will receive public health insurance than they would have under previous law (CBO report, PDF, page 21). Millions of low-income, uninsured Americans received public health insurance is a straight-up, undeniable progressive victory.

Further, by moving much more of the cost of Medicaid to the federal level, the program becomes much more stable, and difficult for right-wing state governments to cut, over the long-term.

Yet further, the $11 billion in additional funding, over five years, for Community Health Centers in the legislation will, at current rates of service, provide primary health care to an additional 17.8 million low-income patients a year. (Current funding of $2.5 million a year (PDF, page 6) treats 20.27 million patients, so funding of $4.7 billion annually projects to 38.11 patients).

It can be reasonably argued that giving private health insurance companies an estimated 16,000,000 to 21,000,000 new customers in the health insurance exchanges (24,000,000 minus the 3,000,000 people who will drop off private employer insurance, minus some of the 5,000,000 people who will drop off non-group / other insurance) is not a progressive victory. Also, the setbacks from reproductive rights, and the deals for drug companies, completely stink. However, it takes a pretty contorted argument, with a very odd definition of progressive, to deny that getting 16,000,000 additional low-income Americans public health insurance, and nearly 18,000,000 additional low-income Americans public health care, is not a big progressive victory.

[ProSense]

1. Medicare covered 19 million people initially. This bill covers 32 million more. Now

the argument that Medicare is a single payer plan run by the government is true, but lost in that argument is the reality of how Medicare operates:

Since the beginning of the Medicare program, CMS has contracted with private companies to operate as intermediaries between the government and medical providers.<5> These contractors are commonly already in the insurance or health care area. Contracted processes include claims and payment processing, call center services, clinician enrollment, and fraud investigation.

more

The current reforms will go a long way to improve Medicare.

[SpartanDem]

2. K&R