Health Reform's Missing Ingredient By Ron Wyden, Senator D-OR, NYTimes Op-Ed
September 17, 2009
The various bills making their way through Congress would, as the president explained, provide some consumer choice by establishing large marketplaces where people could easily compare insurance plans and pick the one that best suits their needs.
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The problem with these bills, however, is that they would not make the exchanges available to all Americans. Only very small companies and those individuals who can't get insurance outside of the exchange - 25 million people - would be allowed to shop there. This would leave more than 200 million Americans with no more options, private or public, than they have today.
With all the arguments over Public Options and Death Panels one solid truth is constantly overlooked. Single-Payer is the best option to fix the healthcare crisis in America. Although it is not the most profitable that is what makes it the best option for the most Americans. That is because private insurance has failed on many levels.
Kudos to the AMA. We were pretty critical of them earlier this year when it appeared that they might stand in the way of Universal Healthcare. However, today our country's largest organization of doctors came out in support of H.R. 3200, or America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.
