Why health care reform WILL become law this year

As the debate on health care reform approaches the day of final reckoning in the Congress, health insurance companies continue to increase their premiums -- even for federal employees -- in double digits. Last week, I heard from a federal employee whose agency announced proudly that it had been able to negotiate a lower rate with BCBS Carefirst of the National Capital Area. Now, instead of a 25 percent increase in premiums for 2010, federal employees under the plan would only pay an increase of 9.5 percent. Mind you, our nation's inflation rate has been less than 2 percent for the past year. Gall? No. Nerve? No. There is another name for it.


Health insurance companies have for the past 20 years imposed ever increasing premiums on a public that generally has paid little attention because they don't pay the premiums, "my agency (or my company) pays them." Of course, you and I know that is not true. Indeed we all pay. Because products and services for all other sectors of our economy must go up to feed the appetite of the health insurance industry....and sooner or later, those goods and services become non competitive with those produced by others, e.g., Mexicans, Chinese, Koreans, etc. And jobs go overseas to produce those things we need.


Meanwhile, back home, we just continue to complain about it all and keep on paying the higher and higher premiums which have nothing to do with the laws of supply and demand. They have everything to do with .....greed. Republicans who want to protect such a system are either ignorant of how the capitalist system works or are intentionally turning a blind eye to the problem. I choose to think they are ignorant rather than intentionally acquiescing to those who keep their campaign coffers full.


And so, to the health insurance companies, work with your government, get costs under control, because if you don't, to paraphrase the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "The government will be back." Would you like me to tell you what comes next IF the current version of health care reform doesn't pass? I didn't think so.


Thank you for your attention. You may now return to counting the deposits your health insurance company will make in the bank today.