If you read any article on Health Care today, I ask you to read this op-ed by Senator Wyden of Oregon.
With all due respect to Max "Tax/Fauc-us/Where did my spine go?" Baucus we will be moving on from his shit bill and either killing it, or reforming it before we can reconcile it with the HELP bill. There will be many amendments that will be proposed before the Finance Committee is votes and although the public option is as important as ever I believe the one being proposed by Senator Ron Wyden is AS if not MORE important.
This was mentioned by the Senator multiple times but he said he had to "work out the kinks" so it could fit into the HC reform legislation and he is finally finished. The one good thing about the Wyden-Bennett Bill was that it would actually insure everyone and give them REAL choice. We already know the Insurance exchange in all the bills proposed right now would restrict who could use them. About 200-250 MILLION AMericans wouldn't even have the chance to get their own choice of insurance plan. That's why this amendment is so important and that's why I think if you call your Senator's and Congresscritters the Public Option isn't the only thing you should be talking about. Here's just some quotes so we know what we are working with
It would impose only one requirement on employers — that they offer their employees a choice of at least two insurance plans, one of them a low-cost, high-value plan. Employers could meet this requirement by offering their own choices. Or they could let their employees choose either the company plan or a voucher that could be used to buy a plan on the exchange. They could also simply insure all of their employees though the exchange, at a discounted rate.
Why is this great? Because it would do two things. For one people who already have employer based insurance won't have to change a thing(so we can keep stating that talking point) but people who think they can get a better deal WILL HAVE A CHOICE. Trust me, 200 million people is ALOT more competition than 40 million.
My plan would actually strengthen the employer-based system by making it possible for even more employers to afford coverage than can today. Employers who offer high-quality health insurance to attract first-rate employees could continue to do so. And employees who like the coverage they have could keep it. Those who don’t, however, would be able to shop elsewhere.
According to one estimate, injecting this kind of competition into the employer-based system would save people and businesses more than $360 billion over 10 years. At the same time, it would improve the quality of health care.
Now this would not only LITERALLY lower the premiums of everyone you know because these insurance companies will now have to fight for every single American, It would EXPAND coverage because the lower premiums means more people can afford it, which means more people join the exhcange, which means more competition, which...you get what I am saying now don't you?
Americans could take advantage of this change, or ignore it if they like; it would not be forced on them by government mandate. Ultimately, by empowering people to select the health insurance that makes the most sense for them and their family, we could end up with a system that works better for everyone.
We can keep the phrase "if you like what you have keep it" but the ONE thing I have not heard any politician, Democrat or Repulibcan, say is "If you don't like what you have, now you have a choice to get something better." This is what Wyden is proposing and this is something I think we all can get behind.
I will just link ya to this slink diary, she knows the names and the numbers to call. We have a little more on our plate folks, but for real change it is worth it. I will be fighting today...........will you?