President Barack Obama has listed his health care reform must-haves in a letter to the Senate Democrats negotiating the legislation, telling them he “strongly” believes it should include a public health insurance option at would operate alongside private plans.
The two-page letter, addressed to Senate Health, Labor and Education Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., calls for a reform bill that does not increase the deficit yet provides access to health care for the millions of people who are uninsured.
Obama called for the creation of a health insurance exchange, “a market where Americans can one-stop shop for a health care plan, compare benefits and prices, and choose the plan that’s best for them, in the same way that Members of Congress and their families can,” Obama wrote. “None of these plans should deny coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition, and all of these plans should include an affordable basic benefit package that includes prevention, and protection against catastrophic costs.”
Obama said in the letter that he understands the two committees are devising legislation incorporating “a principal of shared responsibility – making every American responsible for having health insurance coverage and asking employers to share in the cost.”
Obama said there should be an exception for small businesses and that there should be a “hardship waiver” for those who cannot afford insurance.
Obama said incorporating a public option will give people “a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep insurance companies honest.”
Obama wants Congress to complete a health care bill by October. The House is crafting a bill and several proposals have been put forward by both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, with the GOP generally opposed to the creation of a public health insurance option.
Obama’s strongly worded letter will do little to garner the bipartisan support he said he wanted on a health care bill, but the Democrats, who control nearly 60 votes in the Senate, need only a simple majority to pass a bill so Republican backing won’t really be necessary.
Republican negotiators are well aware of this and say they will simply walk away from negotiations if it looks like their views are being ignored.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Wednesday he was expecting the Obama letter to address the need for a bipartisan bill. But Obama’s missive only gave it a passing mention.
“I know that you have reached out to Republican colleagues, as I have, and that you have worked hard to reach a bipartisan consensus about many of these issues,” Obama said. “I remain hopeful that many Republicans will join us in enacting this historic legislation that will lower health care costs for families, businesses, and governments, and improve the lives of millions of Americans.”
Obama’s letter also addresses cost. He proposed paying for health care reform by raising tax rates on top earners by reducing certain deductions and he also calls for reducing Medicare and Medicaid spending by up to $300 billion in the next decade.
“These savings will come not only by adopting new technologies and addressing the vastly different costs of care, but from going after the key drivers of skyrocketing health care costs, including unmanaged chronic diseases, duplicated tests, and unnecessary hospital readmissions,” Obama wrote.
