Proving We Can Afford Public Plan Choice

[marmar]

from OurFuture.org:




Proving We Can Afford Public Plan Choice
By Isaiah J. Poole

June 19, 2009 - 11:01am ET

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Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has been doing his best to block the most critical element of health care reform—a public health insurance option that can keep private insurers honest. Behind the scenes, progressive groups are preparing to fight back with the proposals that will put to rest the excuse that taxpayers can't afford the substanrial changes we need.

These groups are honing talking points that activists will be able to use next week, when Health Care for America Now and allied organizations will make a major lobbying and grassroots mobilization push against efforts to dilute or eliminate the public plan option from health care reform. One key message: There are reasonable and rational ways to pay for universal health care coverage.

The choice of a public plan option was excluded from the draft bill released Thursday from Baucus' Senate Finance Committee. Bill Scher's Progressive Breakfast column today rounds up the negative reaction from the left. That happened in the wake of a Congressional Budget Office report that fueled scary headlines about the cost of health care reform, even though the report did not factor in a public plan and its potential cost benefits.

The cost debate is forcing to the fore much-needed consideration of changes to our tax structure that will enable us to pay for the health care changes that the country needs. That is a debate Democrats should not fear. Doing nothing already costs the average family covered by health insurance more than $1,000 a year, according to a May 2009 Families USA report. This is a hidden tax that would not be relieved by "reforms" that only make superficial changes but have no meaningful impact on lowering costs. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009062519/proving-we-can-afford-public-plan-choice

[The Traveler]

1. Prove we can prosper w/o public plan

At this point, I think it realistic to ask: "Can the American Nation afford to continue the luxury of privatized medical insurance? Given the actuarial efficiencies of a National Health Risk Pool, it is realistic to presume we as a nation can continue to afford a system based on private medical insurance?"

I think we are asking the wrong question.

Trav

[county worker]

2. How can you make these tax increases permanent?

"A limit on itemized tax deductions for the wealthiest taxpayers, which could raise more than $260 billion over a decade.
Extending the Medicare tax to investment income (except for the first $50,000-$100,000 of income for retirees), which could raise an estimated $40 billion.
Closing corporate loopholes that encourage corporations to shift profits and jobs overseas to avoid U.S. taxes, which can raise $150 billion to $200 billion over 10 years."

Even if we could get these tax increases how would you prevent them from being reversed the next time there is a conservative congress and White House?

These taxes would have to remain permanent if the coverage they are paying for is permanent.

I just don't see it happening.