Will Health Reform Meetings Break the Logjam?
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February 22, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A national health care reform leader and negotiator hopes meetings scheduled this week between President Obama and legislators will be a turning point on such reform. Ron Pollack, executive director of the group Families USA, was recently in Tennessee for a series of conferences on reform. He says doing nothing is not a good option.
"Premiums are going to continue to skyrocket. We just saw increases of 39 percent by Anthem Blue Cross in California and we're seeing comparable increases elsewhere."
The Families USA leader says it's important that people who can't afford coverage, yet don't qualify for Medicaid, have a better option. That's why he supports a public plan. He says mainstream insurance providers have been part of the problem.
"They're the ones who are denying coverage when somebody's had a pre-existing condition; Medicare doesn't do that. They're the ones who charge discriminatory premiums for somebody if they've got asthma, or diabetes, or high blood pressure; Medicare does not do that."
Pollack says competition between providers, competition between insurance companies, and changes in insurance coverage rules could help hold down premiums while still providing for people who would otherwise be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
For more information, see the Tennessee Health Care Campaign Web site: www.thcc2.org