Trauner: How America Can Afford Healthcare

By Gary Trauner, 4-11-07

In my last column on healthcare, I wrote about the sorry state of our healthcare system today.  My conclusion?  We need, and can afford, a system that provides basic, quality, affordable healthcare for every single American. Period.

But how do we get there?

Well, after talking to ranchers, small business owners, working fathers and mothers and the rest of the people in Wyoming, I think we need to start with some basic high-level guiding principles.

Principle 1: As I stated above, cover everybody with basic, affordable coverage. It’s the right thing to do and it lowers cost by spreading risk over the largest possible group of people.  At the least, every American should have the same coverage we, the public, so graciously provide for our elected officials in Congress and federal employees.
Principle 2: Ensure affordable coverage for all regardless of age, pre-existing conditions or employer.
Principle 3: Take the burden off of employers. This will allow small businesses, big businesses, ranchers and others in our economy to remain competitive in a shrinking world.
Principle 4: Work to reduce unnecessary costs in the system. This means reducing overhead and administration while focusing results, regardless of treatment alternatives.

Some argue that we can achieve these principles by simply eliminating age limits in Medicare.  Medicare is a hugely popular program among its constituents.  However, while it allows doctor choice, many Americans fear (unnecessarily, in my view) a single-payer insurance system, making it difficult to achieve.  In addition, the insurance and medical industries are strongly entrenched and major political contributors, making this type of wholesale change unlikely in a political system that is so dependent on money from corporate and wealthy contributors (fodder for another column).

There are other alternatives, providing stopgap measures at best.  We could implement a system of government re-insurance, where catastrophic costs are covered, hopefully reducing insurance premiums for “normal” medical needs.  We might look at a voucher system overseen by the federal government that maintains the current “private” aspects of health care for insurers and doctors while removing the cost burden from employers and small businesses.  Another option may be a health care tax credit for those not covered under employer-based plans.  Lastly, we might look at expanding community health clinics to treat those unable to afford regular care.

Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon has proposed a specific plan, the Healthy Americans Act, which seems to take major steps in the right direction while actually having a chance to gain enough support to become law.  Senator Wyden has consulted with business and labor leaders, all the time working with others across the aisle.  His plan looks to achieve the following:

• Guarantee universal, private health insurance for all Americans
• Provide all Americans with the same level of care currently enjoyed by members of Congress at an affordable price, regardless of pre-existing conditions, age or employer
• Sever the employer-insurance healthcare link, while placing the burden of paying for our system on all parties involved – individuals, employers and government.
• Focus insurance companies on keeping Americans healthy instead of excluding those that need insurance the most
• Contain the rising costs of healthcare through competition.  This plan will expand the pool of individuals for insurers while allowing individuals to make apples-to-apples comparisons, resulting in spreading of risk, reduced costs and more direct competition for business of individuals.
• Ensure every American that their healthcare insurance can never be taken away by mandating coverage while providing subsidies to those who can least afford it.

The problems facing our healthcare system today are staggering.  I want to repeat something I have said previously because it gets to the heart of this issue as well as many others.  It is easy for our elected officials today to tell us what we cannot achieve, to instill fear of change, to demonize others who don’t agree with their viewpoint and to avoid the difficult decisions we all know deep down we need to make.  Too many of our officials are petty politicians, not political leaders.

Take the time to check it out (link opens PDF).  It’s not perfect, and it seems to have plusses and minuses for nearly every stakeholder in our healthcare system.  But it’s a start.  If you like it let your legislators know.  If you don’t, let your legislators know what you think might work.  Tough decisions on difficult issues will only be made if our elected officials know that they will be held responsible for their lack of action.

Gary Trauner is a family man, businessman and entrepreneur who moved to Wyoming 18 years ago and lives in Wilson with his wife Terry and their two young boys.  He ran for Wyoming’s lone seat in Congress in 2006, narrowly losing to a 6-term incumbent.