Speakers blast U.S. health-care system at hearing

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

People in favor of single-payer financing for health care came out of the woodwork on Oct. 12, when the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform hosted a hearing in Fort Collins.

The local hearing drew about 80 people, with most speaking in favor of a single-payer system.

The Blue Ribbon Commission, also called the 208 Commission, was formed by the state legislature last year to study the health care issue. The commission was given two primary tasks: find ways to increase the number of people covered by health insurance, and find ways to reduce costs. Proposals are due to the state legislature by Jan. 31.

Currently, Colorado has almost 785,000 uninsured residents, including 180,000 children, according to commission figures. National public opinion polls show health care to be the number one domestic issue for Americans.

The 208 Commission took to the towns of Colorado in October, holding 14 hearings around the state to gather public input on five reform proposals under consideration. Interest was high, and the commission had to move some of the meetings, including the one in Fort Collins, to larger facilities.

At the Oct. 12 hearing, commissioners described the basic components of all five plans. (See related article.) Commissioner Lisa Esgar noted that obtaining increased coverage for Colorado residents while also reducing costs is "a difficult combination to achieve."

The five plans now being studied, Esgar said, represent a variety of approaches to health care reform. While four still incorporate private insurance companies, the fifrth, a single-payer financing plan, is "very different from the others," she noted.

Single-payer financing is "kind of like Medicare for all of Colorado," Esgar explained. The single-payer plan is the only one of the five plans that reduces overall health care costs in the state.

"The time and circumstances are right for Colorado to lead the nation" in instituting a single-payer system, said Eliza Carney, chair of Health Care for All Colorado's local steering committee.

At the October hearing, some spoke from the perspective of having lived abroad. Merete Cunningham, who grew up in Norway, said she favored a single-payer financing system like that of her native country. "The other plans reward insurance companies that have utterly failed us," she commented.

Mark Lutton, who has lived in Germany and Japan, said these countries have achieved a higher standard of living than the United States, partly because of not having to pay $500 per month for health insurance. "We are way behind," he said.

Several local physicians also spoke in favor of a single-payer plan. "The free-market system has had its chance for the last 100 years," said Kathy Waller. "It's obsolete for the 21st century."

She called insurance mandates, for either individuals or employers, "legalized extortion."

Regarding a single-payer system, Waller said, "This is not rocket science--this is a no-brainer." She cited the fact that the single-payer system being considered by the 208 Commission saves money and also covers everyone.

Cory Carroll, another local physician, said that all plans under consideration except the single-payer plan are "health care tweaking, not health care reform." He argued that the single-payer system would allow for better cost containment.

Tom Linnell, a local psychologist, added that even though people would pay more in taxes with a single-payer system, they would have no more insurance premiums. "We'll have more of our own dollars in our own pockets," he argued.

The other plans, he said, "are putting more in the private insurance system." The current system, he added, "has been very successful at maximizing profits but not in improving health."

Two northern Colorado businessmen also spoke in favor of a single-payer system.

Chris Schwab, whose daughter has kidney disease, complained that for-profit dialysis companies have high mortality rates. "Some people say we have to compromise with the private insurance companies, but I have to say, why? We're not asking for much here--only what every other civilized country has, single-payer insurance," said Schwab.

Not everyone at the hearing favored a single-payer approach, however. Chris Davies said her family has had "supreme health care, and we all survived financially."

She said she is concerned that Colorado would not be able to get the necessary federal waivers from Medicare and Medicaid if a single-payer system were implemented, and she's also worried that the state could have an influx of people if such a plan were adopted.

Steve Russell, a small business owner, said the single-payer system wouldn't work. "The system is broken," he said, "but this isn't the answer."

Others at the hearing urged commissioners to consider alternative medicine, long-term care, the public health system and mental health care when coming up with recommendations for reform.

"Mental health and substance abuse treatment should be available on the same level as physical conditions," said Linda Gabel, a representative of the Larimer Center for Mental Health.