Let me state that I do not believe that the private sector health insurance is not without its faults; it most certainly is not. I do believe that we can make reforms that will drive down the cost of health care, increase efficiencies, reduce errors and encourage competition to make health care affordable to all Americans. But I believe that this can all be done entirely through the private sector, with consumers driving that change, rather than the government. Additionally, Medicare and Medicaid require substantial reform. We know that expanding the size of the government insurance pool through a new federal plan will reduce the private insurance pool by 70%. Contrary to what President Obama has said, basic market principles lead anyone to conclude that private insurance costs will increase, become unsustainable and the market will subsequently fold with the introduction of a “competing” government plan. In fact, many independent studies in the industry, including the Lewin Group – which Medicare, Medicaid and Congress itself have each contracted with on numerous occasions to provide expert analysis on these very metrics – have indicated that it is the government-run Medicare and Medicaid programs that significantly drive up the rates of the private insurances plans purchased by consumers and their employers. As you know, the low rates of payment and the “volume discount” structure of these government plans must be offset by private insurance plans to make up for payment shortages of 30% per claim. Those offsets are paid by the subscribers of those private insurance plans.

Many studies have provided numerous recommendations for making private health care insurance affordable to consumers simply by reforming how Medicare and Medicaid determines its fee/payment schedules. With additional reform measures, I sincerely believe that quality affordable health care could be made accessible to every American through the private sector, without any government takeover. In addition, Medicaid specifically could then be better leveraged to serve the purpose for which it was intended, which is to provide temporary coverage to those who are uninsured due to a circumstantial change in status. Some estimates state that with these reforms alone, an average policy could be made available for individual purchase for as little as $2,500 – $5,000 a year, with fewer out of pocket expenses and less or no eligibility restrictions. Add to this a federal tax reduction or credit to be used for this purpose, and the majority of Americans would easily have affordable access to private health insurance. Why aren’t such options being considered over a government takeover?

Before we place so many Americans on a Medicare/Medicaid type of health care system, it is the duty of every member of Congress and every other public servant who represents constituents to scrutinize how these plans work today, and in accurately determining what the impact of increasing the pool so significantly, so quickly will be on the overall system.

• If there are very few physicians and medical facilities today who readily accept this insurance, as has always been my experience when on Medicaid, then what is the proposed legislation offering to resolve this issue?
• Since Medicaid only pays 60 cents on every dollar for our claims today, how much worse will it be when millions more are added to the government plan? Today’s Medicaid recipients are already left holding the bag for the other 40% of the bill. It sounds nice to “say” every uninsured American will be covered, but it’s another thing entirely to actually “pay” their claims. Government barely pays what they’re supposed to now, so how can I be assured you’ll pay when millions more are added to the pool?
• Under a government plan, to whom will we appeal when the government denies a claim or request?
• What measures have been taken to ensure that the cost of private health insurance will not skyrocket to account for the growth in the public insurance pool, effectively making it unaffordable to anyone left in the private sector? This is the precise prediction in the Lewin Group report and many other independent studies.
• If those with private health insurance truly can keep their plan if they like it, what is in the legislation to protect this promise? And what measures are being taken to keep my relationship with my doctors intact?
• Why won’t legislators consider changing the oppressive regulations that restrict consumers from purchasing our own individual insurance directly from insurance providers?
• Why in this bill is the government “not required to comply with the insurance regulations”, as are the States? Who then will provide proper oversight?
• With my other living costs increasing more rapidly than I’ve ever experienced, how will I possibly afford private health insurance under this proposed plan?

I have not heard answers to such questions from either Democrats OR Republicans, nor have I been able to find these answers in any of the little bits of the draft legislation that have been made available to the public, scarce as those portions are. I can add that I belong to a relatively new non-partisan citizen political action committee that is already over 700,000 members strong, a good majority of whom are now affiliated as independents. These members share these same views; the questions and discussion I’ve outlined here could just as easily be any of theirs, and they all struggle to have their voices heard on this issue. Groups like ours may not be as influential as labor unions and lobbyists, but our voices and our votes count every bit as much. We simply ask that we be heard, too.

Please sir, as my representative in Congress, I am pleading with you and your colleagues to very carefully and very thoughtfully consider constituents like me as you consider this issue, and not forget about us. I ask that you please thoroughly read this legislation. I am pleading with our lawmakers to please protect my access to the private health care insurance that I so greatly cherish and appreciate in this country. My very life quite literally depends upon the protection of the private health care system and its sustained affordability.