Bennet pitches health fix

But crowd at chamber concerned

Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

In a downtown Denver room full of business suits, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet yesterday had a tough sell on a health care reform plan that includes a public option.

But he told the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s membership that reform is not based on a public option, despite his belief that reform should include a public option for those who can’t obtain private insurance. The senator acknowledged that there are several ideas on the table and that a public option is not the be-all and end-all.

Still, Bennet defended his principles.

“What I have not proposed is a government takeover of health care, that is not my suggestion — that’s not the suggestion of a lot of advocates of creating options for people,” he said in a town hall-setting attended by business owners and members of the Chamber. “But that’s what the political vernacular has become.”

Prior to Bennet’s remarks, William Lindsay, chairman-elect of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, expressed the Chamber’s concerns over a government-run health care plan, arguing that it would diminish competition.

“Team owners can’t be referees … we must have a level playing field — if we don’t have a level playing field in terms of how a public option were to operate over time, it would be impossible for private insurers to participate in the system,” said Lindsay.

The Chamber does, however, support individual mandates requiring citizens to carry health insurance. But Lindsay acknowledged concerns over how to enforce such individual mandates.

“We need to broaden the pool and get as many people into the system as possible,” said Lindsay. “And individual mandates go hand-to-glove with health insurance reform.”

The Chamber does not support mandates requiring employers to provide insurance.

Making fiscal responsibility the focus of his remarks, Bennet said health reform is necessary if the nation is to find economic stability. In Colorado, the median household income has dropped by nearly $800, while insurance premiums have increased 97 percent — about $1,493, said the senator.

Sixty-two percent of all bankruptcies are health care related, and 78 percent of those bankruptcies happen to insured families.

“We’re squeezing our middle class,” he said.

One such solution Bennet is suggesting to lower health care costs is an incentives system for doctors in which doctors would be rewarded for their performance, including outcomes and successes. By doing a better job treating illnesses and conditions, health care costs would be lowered, said Bennet.

But attorney Gail Klapper, who attended the discussion yesterday, questioned the success of such an incentives system.

“How do you make sure that you don’t encourage providers, doctors to just take patients who aren’t very sick?” asked Klapper, who is also director of Colorado Forum, an exclusive public policy think tank made up of chief executives. “The outcome would be that the quality of care looks better for them because the sick patients aren’t in their profile.”

Bennet began answering the question, but then admitted that he would “need to think about an answer” before directly answering the question.

The senator also tackled the issue of America’s rising debt by promoting Pay-As-You-Go legislation, which he has introduced in the Senate that would require Congress to explain how it can pay for new programs and spending before actually going through with it.

“If you want to spend more money you’re going to need offsets; if you’re going to have tax cuts you’re going to need offsets,” he said.

A transition to digital medical and equipment records is also a priority for Bennet. He said simple technology, such as barcodes, can streamline the medical world and create cost-savings along the way.

The senator would also like to see an end to people being denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and would like routine prostate, mammogram and colonoscopy examinations to be a part of all health care plans.

“We’ve gotta change the system that we’ve got right now,” concluded Bennet. “This will not get us all the way there, but it’s a big step forward.”

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