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Healthcare for dummies
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07/30/09 12:13 PM ET
Visit any large bookstore and you’ll find an assortment of reference guides published under an eye-catching — if somewhat unflattering — title: the For Dummies series. There’s Golf for Dummies, Cooking for Dummies — even TCP/IP for Dummies. (Huh?)
If you’ve bought one of these books, you know the sheepish feeling you get when plunking down your purchase. But in a world of information overload, it’s no wonder so many of us are looking for cheat-sheets to understand subjects that can seem maddeningly complex.
Take healthcare reform. A recent Pew survey found that 95 percent of Americans consider the issue important, with 78 percent saying the issue affects them personally. But for all of the news stories, TV ads and water-cooler chatter about what’s making its way through Congress, a full 63 percent say the subject is “hard to understand.”
I’m no policy expert. But for those trying to make sense of the issue, answering a few simple questions may help.
Who’s for it?
* Doctors and nurses. The American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association have endorsed President Barack Obama’s plan. No one has a greater sensitivity to the dangerous influence insurance companies hold over medical decisionmaking than health professionals themselves.
* The AARP. With nearly 40 million members and a highly respected brand name, the AARP carefully considers the merits of an issue before offering its imprimatur. But with so many of its retired members desperate to see the Medicare prescription gap closed, and millions more nearing retirement without access to quality, affordable healthcare, the AARP was quick to side with Obama and his allies.
Who’s against it?
• The insurance industry. Why would big insurance companies — which routinely use fine print to deny coverage based on health or gender and endlessly jack up premiums and out-of-pocket costs for their enrollees — want to swallow new regulations that put people’s health ahead of their soaring profits?
• Insurance industry advocates (aka the GOP leadership). Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said this week that new rules on insurance companies were unnecessary. “The health insurance industry is one of the most regulated industries in America,” said Kyl. “They don’t need to be ‘kept honest’ by the government.” Give him credit for candor, if not a firm grip on reality.
Who benefits?
Almost every American. The Democratic plan includes a crucial set of health insurance consumer protections, such as a ban on denying coverage of pre-existing conditions; a yearly cap on runaway out-of-pocket costs, premiums and co-pays; a prohibition against dropping or diluting coverage for those who get sick; full coverage of preventive care; guaranteed insurance renewal, even for those with illnesses; and no annual or lifetime caps on coverage. (See the full list here: www.whitehouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/.) Hard to argue with that.
Who sacrifices?
Insurance companies. (See above.) Big corporations, which will be required to cover their employees. Millionaires, who may face a small surcharge to help subsidize coverage for those struggling with healthcare costs — including small businesses and middle-class families.
That’s basically it. Opponents, of course, are hoping that Americans’ demand for quality, affordable care can be crushed by scare tactics and misinformation. They aim to kill reform by unnecessarily complicating the core issue. But we’re no dummies.
Del Cecato is a partner at AKPD Message and Media, the political consulting firm founded by David Axelrod in 1985. He served as media adviser and admaker for Obama for America and Obama-Biden 2008.
If you’ve bought one of these books, you know the sheepish feeling you get when plunking down your purchase. But in a world of information overload, it’s no wonder so many of us are looking for cheat-sheets to understand subjects that can seem maddeningly complex.
Take healthcare reform. A recent Pew survey found that 95 percent of Americans consider the issue important, with 78 percent saying the issue affects them personally. But for all of the news stories, TV ads and water-cooler chatter about what’s making its way through Congress, a full 63 percent say the subject is “hard to understand.”
Who’s for it?
* Doctors and nurses. The American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association have endorsed President Barack Obama’s plan. No one has a greater sensitivity to the dangerous influence insurance companies hold over medical decisionmaking than health professionals themselves.
* The AARP. With nearly 40 million members and a highly respected brand name, the AARP carefully considers the merits of an issue before offering its imprimatur. But with so many of its retired members desperate to see the Medicare prescription gap closed, and millions more nearing retirement without access to quality, affordable healthcare, the AARP was quick to side with Obama and his allies.
Who’s against it?
• The insurance industry. Why would big insurance companies — which routinely use fine print to deny coverage based on health or gender and endlessly jack up premiums and out-of-pocket costs for their enrollees — want to swallow new regulations that put people’s health ahead of their soaring profits?
• Insurance industry advocates (aka the GOP leadership). Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said this week that new rules on insurance companies were unnecessary. “The health insurance industry is one of the most regulated industries in America,” said Kyl. “They don’t need to be ‘kept honest’ by the government.” Give him credit for candor, if not a firm grip on reality.
Who benefits?
Almost every American. The Democratic plan includes a crucial set of health insurance consumer protections, such as a ban on denying coverage of pre-existing conditions; a yearly cap on runaway out-of-pocket costs, premiums and co-pays; a prohibition against dropping or diluting coverage for those who get sick; full coverage of preventive care; guaranteed insurance renewal, even for those with illnesses; and no annual or lifetime caps on coverage. (See the full list here: www.whitehouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/.) Hard to argue with that.
Who sacrifices?
That’s basically it. Opponents, of course, are hoping that Americans’ demand for quality, affordable care can be crushed by scare tactics and misinformation. They aim to kill reform by unnecessarily complicating the core issue. But we’re no dummies.
Del Cecato is a partner at AKPD Message and Media, the political consulting firm founded by David Axelrod in 1985. He served as media adviser and admaker for Obama for America and Obama-Biden 2008.
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