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Keep Your Eyes on the Ball
We have thankfully arrived at the point in the reform process where we are discussing specific solutions.
The good news is that this stage of the game comes after years of building bipartisan consensus on the need for health-care reform -- and the political will to make it happen. The bad news is that this is usually the point where the wheels fall off.
As we get further into discussing contentious proposals that impact a huge set of interrelated issues and countless stakeholders, the single most important thing for Congress to do is to keep their eyes on the ball. They must remember that there is no economic recovery without overhauling our broken health-care system.
About half of our members are ages 50 to 64 -- a health insurance "no-woman's land." More than 7 million Americans in this age group do not have insurance, despite the fact that more than half are currently working. They face discrimination in the form of insurance age and risk-rating practices that make them ineligible for coverage or keep the prices too high to make a difference.
We're talking about millions of Americans who are on the job, own small businesses or looking for work. They have done all the right things, but are now forced to put off needed care or prescription drugs because of cost, risking their health now and increasing health-care costs in the long term.
So Congress should continue looking for the best possible solutions to help individuals, employers and the country overall. But let's not allow ideological or partisan differences blind us to the urgency and importance of this reform process.
This sounds more simple -- and simplistic -- than it really is. And it's harder than it should be.
By
Nancy LeaMond
|
June 11, 2009; 8:25 AM ET
| Category:
Health Care Reform
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Posted by: STANTONCAROL | June 14, 2009 8:39 AM
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do not side with big business and the insurance companies and pers drug companies.....side with the AMERICAN PEOPLE AND BARACK OBAMA .........THAT IS THE REASON HE WAS ELECTED...WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTHCARE IN OUR COUNTRY.