This past week or so has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt the far right's agenda for the summer of 2009 can be summed up in two words - "Hell no!!" It doesn't matter whether suggestions for health care reform are coming from Republicans or Democrats. If the right has anything to do with it we will all be paying more than $22,000 per family by 2020 for health care and that's that.
The latest demonstration of fear and loathing from the right with respect to health care reform is not aimed at a Democrat, but rather Utah Senator Bob Bennett. The Club for Growth has launched an attack against the Senator for co-sponsoring health reform legislation with Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden. The fact this legislation includes neither a public option or health insurance co-op demonstrates the far right simply does not want health care reform in any form.
We simply cannot afford as a nation, let alone as individual families and employers, to see health insurance premium costs rise from the $12,200 range as of 2008 to the more than $22,000 annual cost predicted by 2020. Without reform that is exactly what will happen. A recent study concluded even a one percent reduction in the growth rate of insurance premium costs between now and 2020 would reduce the cost of insuring a family by more than $2,500 annually below current projections.
The word "growth" in the Club for Growth's name must be referring to health care costs. It obviously has nothing to do with broader economic growth.
0 comments:
Post a Comment