Healthcare.gov will be fixed. People will sign up and reap
the benefits of universal health coverage starting in January. So what’s next?
No doubt, the Republicans will continue their quest to
reverse the limited progress made to date. They will try to deny coverage to
many, eliminate the cap on “administrative” costs to insurance carriers, and
cut preventative care, which saves lives and money.
Democrats are counting on the projected ubiquity and success
of Obamacare after January to lock it in and to shut down the GOP’s incessant
and futile efforts to repeal. They’re wrong. Just take a look at other
successful programs like Food Stamps. The Republicans are not hesitant to take
food from children and veterans in the name of fiscal responsibility. They’re
not even hesitant to shut down the government in the name of fiscal responsibility
either, knowing that their shutdown cost tens of billions of dollars. And some
Democrats are complicit, confusing “blackmail” with “compromise.”
But for now, let’s assume Obamacare survives the wounds
being inflicted by the mean-spirited GOP. Like Medicare and Social Security, the
Affordable Care Act will be meshed within the fabric of society while still
being constantly attacked. So what’s next?
Recognizing that Obamacare is not health care reform, but
rather insurance reform, the next logical step would be to join other developed
nations that have better health outcomes in implementing some type of
single-payer health care system – Medicare for all. But that will be a challenge for the next
generation. In today’s environment, when the mantra of one political party is “I’ve
got mine. Too bad for you,” transformational change in health care is going to
be a long, hard struggle. Add to that the lobbying power of insurance companies,
whose profit is based on the maladies of the American people, and you have a
recipe for the status quo at best, and regression at worst.
Even though it may take a generation to make the real
improvements to American health care through single-payer, that’s no reason not
to start the effort now. But there are other things we can do in the short term
to make real progress, too.
One of the best parts of Obamacare is that it mandates free
preventative care. This not only improves outcomes, but early detection of
diseases also results in less expensive treatment, helping the fiscal balance
sheet.
Unfortunately though, even with early detection, people will
still suffer from chronic ailments like diabetes, cancer, mental illness, and
other diseases that will require long-term, expensive treatment. But that
doesn’t have to be. With the help of government, scientific research has
eliminated similar diseases like polio, smallpox, and malaria. We should strive
for the same thing with today’s diseases. For example, cures for cancer would
not only save lives, but would dramatically reduce health care costs.
Unfortunately, funding for medical research is one more area
that the troglodytic Republicans in Congress feel they must attack. Politics
trumps science as evidenced by George W. Bush’s unilateral shut down of
embryonic stem cell research early in his first term. (As an aside, I wonder
how many lives would have been saved if the Supreme Court had allowed the
Florida vote count to proceed in 2000.)
Today’s House of Representatives has a dangerous
anti-science bias. Funding for medical research should be increased, not
slashed. Sure, it will cost money in the short term. So did the research that
led to the polio vaccine. But thanks to the foresight of previous generations,
we are not paying billions of dollars to treat people with polio. This
generation needs the same foresight. We need to elect representatives who
understand that good scientific research pays off with savings in money as well
as in lives.
A version of this diary was originally posted on Blue Jersey
