So when do you think congress will do this?
I think the President and some members of Congress have done this on several occasions only the message has gotten lost among the more minor debates, i.e., illegal immigrants gaining access to health care under the public option, abortions being funded partially by government funds under the public option, taxing large corporations, "cadillac policies" or penalizing the individual who choose not to get health insurance but can afford to do so.
Both current health care proposals have tried to trim costs and be self-sustaining (pay for themselves over time), but any long-term cost associated with health care reform gets talked over by the short-term, 10-year cost estimates. Hardly anyone is stating the 15 or 20 year estimates by the CBO which, of course, means nothing since most people can only grasp outlays up to 10 year periods. To that, the Republican Party has done a fine job of playing on the "generational fears" of the people, i.e., "I may not have to pay for this mess for another 4 or 5 years, but my kids and my grand kids sure will". Nevermind that this same argument was made for other big government projects, i.e., the railroads, TVA, Hoover Damn, NASA, Medicare, Social Security, etc., etc., and look how most of them turned out? Of those government projects mentioned, only Medicare and Social Security have run into financial hardships, but this seems to have more to do with how different administrations have handled both over the years than problems with either program themselves, i.e., an unfunded Medicare Part-D (prescription drug) plan and borrowing from Social Security with no means to pay it back.
Now, my argument since health care reform and the President has discussed same have been "if Medicare is the overlying cost problem where the deficit is concerned, why not change things within the Medicare system itself?" But the truth is cost cutting isn't the only problem where this nation's health care problems are concerned. There are an assortment of issues that truly need to be addressed, i.e., raising the minimum age for "young adults" between the ages of 18-25 so that they can have a better chance of being covered either under their parent's insurance or find insurance on their own, allowing part-time employees the opportunity to buy low-cost health insurance (because right now most companies keep employees as part-time workers in an effort NOT to provide health care benefits - a cost-savings measure for employers), fixing the prescription drug issues as this matter relates to generic medicine and overall costs, removing the stigma of pre-existing conditions, finding ways to bring down the cost of COBRA insurance, including certain medical/surgical procedures that 20 years ago weren't considered "normal" in health care, but now are necessary (i.e., prosthetics or reconstructive surgery under certain medical emergency/accident situations), increasing the cap on covered benefit expenditures, etc., etc.
The issues are far beyond mere cost, services, access or end-of-life counseling (which clearly have been blown way out of proportion). There truly are problems within America's health care system. Only until some things happen to you, most people (particularly those in opposition of reform at any level) don't dig deep enough to find out what's wrong. Of course, why would they? As far as most people know, the system isn't broken. I know I once thought that same way...until my parents died and my step-daughter required medical attention for a medical condition that rarely affects young adults/older teens.
So, back to the issue of the cost of health care...
It's expensive. Many people lose their health insurance once they lose their job or change jobs. Young adults rarely can afford health care not because they don't want to pay for it but because the expense cuts deep into their living expenses (not to mention many are trying to go to college while also attempting to live on their own). And part-time employees currently don't have a chance. As for the elderly, I know several who after paying for their prescription drugs barely have enough to buy groceries. So, yes, it's a big problem that one side would rather push under the rug once again and kill any effort of changing the system while the other tends to give costly "incentives" just to curry votes. Either way you look at the issue, both sides need to come together and fix the system. Otherwise, none of us win; we all will continue to lose only some won't feel the effects of that lose until they become senior citizens. And then they'll wish the system was changed when the chance to do so was within their grasps only they let partisian politics get in the way of their moral obligation and common sense.
