Health Care: Getting Over The Errors Of The Past

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

The United States cannot endure another failure on health care reform like it did in 1993 and 2003 said journalists attending today’s Congressional Health Care Caucus. Bipartisan support exists in Congress to pass legislation, but citizens and the press need to be better informed of what the reform involves.

The healthcare debate is very important "because it is going to affect the lives of every American living today and coming in the next twenty, thirty, or forty decades," said U.S. Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-TX) who was hosting the event.

National Public Radio’s Julie Rovner called herself "a veteran of the last go-round of health reform in 1993-1994" who is currently "hearing an awful lot of the same rhetoric coming from many of the same mouths."

Since the healthcare reform failure of 1993-1994 "a massive consensus has developed, almost completely bipartisan...on the need for health care reform," said Roll Call’s Mort Kondrake. This consensus is being reached due to what Americans are paying for health care coverage today. Currently, 16 percent of the nation's GDP is spent on health care by state and local governments.

Rovner urged Congress to take its time transforming the nation’s health care system. "People really don't understand, it doesn't give reporters enough time to really figure it out and then explain it back to the public...This debate maybe needs a little bit more time to play out."

Disagreements over Medicaid funding

The House Subcommittee on Health met to discuss a bill sponsored by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) that would increase federal funding given to states for Medicaid. According to Rep. Pallone, over 60 million Americans currently rely on Medicaid for their health care. Pallone said fiscal pressure on states, coupled with the state of the economy, is causing more Americans to seek Medicaid's assistance. By protecting Medicaid, Pallone said Congress would be protecting Americans' access to medical care while securing jobs in health care nationwide.

Pallone said his bill is similar to an economic stimulus plan put forth by the Republican Congress in 2003 and signed by President Bush. Both legislation call for temporary increases in funding that help prevent states from cutting Medicaid services and creates the possibility of states reinstating abandoned programs. Democrats on the subcommittee, concerned over health care accessibility and declines in a faltering economy, expressed their desire to retain social services for low-income Americans.

Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) criticized the actions of Pallone's bill. He said 40 states experienced budget shortfalls when Congress increased Medicaid allocations in fiscal year 2003, contrasting that number with the 29 states that face budget short falls in fiscal year 2008. Burgess said the subcommittee is failing to address critical energy issues.

In an effort to reform Medicaid funding, James Frogue of the Center for Health Transformation advocated using the internet to make states more accountable for their spending. Frogue cited a New York Times article that called 40 percent of Medicaid claims in New York State into question. Frogue said Congress should verify that states are using funds responsibly prior to allocating additional funds.

The blame game: What’s causing high gas prices?

The role of market speculation and its effect on the dramatic increases in the price of oil was discussed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and and Investigations Subcommittee. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) stated that the American economy will not be sustainable if high prices at the pump continue to climb.

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) said a solution to inappropriate speculation would help to lower prices in the short term, contrasting this idea with calls to increase supply by drilling in the ANWR. Inslee said that these measures would affect future generations but have no immediate result now. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) stated that speculation of future demand for oil has played a large role in oil’s price increase and that one can solve the issue of high prices by traveling to New York or Chicago.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) said the cost of oil can be attributed to low supply, not market speculation. Barton suggested opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and selling two million barrels each day. Barton said this would return oil prices to under $100 per barrel. He noted that the Bush administration opposes this strategy and that its success would rely on an act of Congress. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said supply and demand principles, as well as deflation and market forces cannot be ignored.

Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management said that investment firms are good at making profits but ignore the long-term consequences of their decisions, naming the subprime mortgage crisis as an example. Inslee recalled being told by Vice President Dick Cheney that he did not understand economics when he presented Cheney with information concerning Enron, comparing that experience with what he views as the Bush administration’s refusal to acknowledge the effect of futures markets on oil.