Health

In Sunday's New York Times, Robert Pear reports that biotech industry lobbyists were especially successful in getting their spin mouthed by House Members during the health care reform debate. He notes:

Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech, one of the world's largest biotechnology companies. E-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that the lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans. The lobbyists, employed by Genentech and by two Washington law firms, were remarkably successful in getting the statements printed in the Congressional Record under the names of different members of Congress.

Here's an article I recently published in a special issue of The Regulator (the full issue focused on the health care debate is attached below):

The current economic crisis teaches insurance regulators several key lessons to prevent a wholesale health care meltdown in America. Much like the financial sector, the health insurance sector has made short-term gains its priority rather than the health and well-being of its customers.

As a result, private insurance fails to meet the needs of Americans and is increasingly unaffordable and unsustainable. Insurers have driven up premiums and out-of-pocket costs, putting consumers at financial risk if they need costly health care services or forcing them to go without needed care.

For health care reform to work there must be the type of federal oversight and consumer protections required of the financial sector under the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). The creation of the Health Choices Administration (HCA), as outlined in proposed HR 3200 (a.k.a. America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009), is critical.