Health care reform will save money

Apr 27, 2010

I write in response to the letter "Fuzzy Math," April 20. The writer of the letter, Mr. Scott Folkens, seems to discredit the assertion made by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that health reform lowers our national deficit by $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years.

I urge Mr. Folkens to actually study the health reform legislation, instead of simply repeating sound bites he hears from the right-wing media and the GOP leaders of the Party of No here in Washington.

Let me make the math quite simple for Mr. Folkens. Americans spend nearly $2.5 trillion every year on health care costs. Health reform saves money by reducing fraud, abuse and waste in our medical system, by holding insurance companies accountable to end their price-gouging practices, and by focusing on prevention and wellness programs - which reduce the need for more costly treatments of health conditions later in life.

It also moves Medicare and other government medical reimbursements to a system of value-based payment, meaning providers will be rewarded for the value of the care they give, not the volume of care.

A prime example of cost savings can be seen in the Medicare Advantage program, one of the most inefficient programs found in the entire government. Economists have estimated that for every tax dollar currently spent on Medicare Advantage, 14 percent is passed on to seniors while 86 percent goes straight to the profits of insurance companies. Health reform reduces

this improper use of taxpayer money, and instead improves Medicare benefits for all seniors by: 1) giving a $250 one-time credit to all seniors affected by the "doughnut hole" this year, and eventually closing the "doughnut hole" completely so seniors can afford the prescription drugs they need; 2) providing free annual wellness exams and preventive tests to all Medicare recipients, and 3) protecting Medicare solvency for the next decade.

In regard to the so-called "government takeover" of the student loan system, the vast majority of colleges and universities in California have already switched over to the Direct Loan Program, which this bill makes the new law of the land.

I encourage Mr. Folkens to contact our local universities, colleges and community colleges, and ask them their thoughts on the new student loan reform. Do they dislike the increase in Pell Grants this bill provides? Or the lowering of interest rates on student loans? Maybe they dislike the $500 million a year this bill invests in community colleges across the country? Or it could be the $3 billion that will be invested in minority-serving institutions like Hispanic-serving institutes and historically black colleges and universities?

No, the truth is that local colleges and universities are ecstatic with this student loan reform. These changes are good for students and families struggling to afford a college education, and good for our colleges and university systems across the country.

As for Mr. Folkens and the Party of No, it's the same old rhetoric. Time and time again, when given the opportunity to stand with America's working families and fight for lower health and education costs, they say no.

I am proud to tell you that I said yes to legislation that provides health coverage to 32 million previously uninsured Americans; yes to legislation that ends the denial of care because of pre-existing conditions; yes to legislation that lowers student loan costs and sends more kids to college; and yes to legislation that, as much as some may try to mislead you, actually lowers the deficit by $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years.

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