Health Care

Floor Speech

Mr. JOHANNS. Madam President, I spent several days during the recess hosting a series of discussions on health care. I met with doctors and hospitals, underwriters, small business owners, and uninsured Nebraskans. Many of them feel as if they are one illness away from a crisis. The economic slowdown has only heightened this fear as they worry that they may lose their job and the health insurance their family depends upon to stay healthy.

Their concerns are real, and Congress should act carefully to address them. We need to create a health care system that protects patient rights, let's them see their doctor, and is affordable.

But I am concerned about the discussion that is occurring today. The American people deserve true solutions and should not be led down a path that is fraught with shadowy numbers and unfulfilled promises. Specifically, I have reservations about a government-run public plan. Some have attempted to sugar-coat this new bureaucracy as simply an option. However, the more you learn about it, the more you realize there is nothing optional about it. In my judgment, it is a one-way ticket to a single-payer, government-run health care system, one that will compromise patient access to quality care.

It is impossible for private industry to compete with the government. The government can fix the prices and pick the rules that make only one plan feasible--the government plan. When the government acts as both the player and the umpire, it's not a level playing field. That close call at the plate will never go to the runner and the foul ball magically will become a home run.

Some will say the government-run option will increase competition and keep the private insurers honest. Left unsaid is that government underpayments on Medicaid and Medicare are creating enormous cost shifting and increase the health care costs for others. Underpayments for Medicare and Medicaid are estimated to shift about $89 billion onto people who have private insurance. Each family pays an additional $1,800 annually to make up for the government's flawed payment system. Hospitals and doctors literally told me they could not keep their businesses open on the Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rate. So the creation of another plan, a government plan, will only rob from Peter to pay Paul. Eventually, there will be no private insurance companies left to bear the burden.

Bottom line is that government does not balance the books, and it views itself as not having to. Washington seems happy to keep on printing money and raising taxes. How can private business compete with that?

If a government-run public plan was truly going to compete, it would face the same regulations and the same risks that the private industry feels. No bailouts if it becomes insolvent. Does anyone think the bill's proponents would honestly let that happen? The Administration would probably claim it is too big to fail, like AIG, Citibank, General Motors.

A system with a competitive government option, I fear, is a fairy tale. A government-run plan will undercut the private market and ultimately drive them out of business. I am not defending the private insurance industry. Far from it. But we need to be honest with the American people. An uneven playing field is not right, and it will not benefit Americans.

The effect, I fear, will be longer waiting lines, less innovation, and rationing of care. In Canada, the average wait time for radiation treatment is 7 weeks. I cannot imagine asking Americans diagnosed with cancer to wait that long. There are some in Washington who have their heels dug in on a single-payer plan. It contradicts the President's promise. He has said over and over that people will be able to keep their health care. But Americans beware. One study estimates 119 million people will shift to the government plan. They will not choose that; their employer will choose it for them. We cannot fault employers that are trying to save money.

In the committee draft, businesses that employ 25 or more employees would be required to pay an annual penalty of $750 per employee. When you do the math, this is no penalty compared to the cost of private insurance.

In 2008, the average employer's cost for an individual health care plan was $3,900. Putting their employees on the public plan option would save them over $3,200 a year for each employee. So you can see why this shift would occur.

Ultimately, people will not have a choice. Their employer will make the choice, and they will be forced onto the government plan. To promise otherwise is misleading. Even the President has recognized that shift is going to occur.

I conclude my comments today by saying: Don't be fooled. A government plan that does not compete on a level playing field means people will migrate to the government plan, and the choice to keep private insurance will not be a viable option.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.

Source