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Dean: There's No Real Insurance Reform In Health Care Bills
Rachel Slajda | November 23, 2009, 11:30AM
Fmr. DNC Chair Howard Dean
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Former DNC chair Howard Dean, one of the most outspoken advocates of health care reform and a public option, said today that neither the House nor the Senate bill represents real insurance reform.
"This thing has been pretty watered down. Right now, it's about as watered down as it could be and still be a real bill. For example, there's really no insurance reform in this bill, already," Dean said on MSNBC.
He added that the Senate bill is "decent" and the House bill is "better." But, he said, insurance companies can still charge double for those with pre-existing conditions under the House bill.
"There's not a lot left to this bill. The public option is about it," Dean said.
He also said the best way to combat fearmongering and rumors about health care reform is to pass the legislation and let people get the benefits as soon as possible.
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Spiff
November 23, 2009 11:51 AM
This is the first thing on health care I read this morning, and it's not very encouraging. :( (Mondays suck!)
I'm sure the bills will get watered down even more, and that has me wondering if President Obama will sign a bill that has, say, 10% of what he wanted...
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Docb
November 23, 2009 1:21 PM in reply to Spiff
Thank you H. Dean...He is telling the public the truth and hopefully this will get emailed to every rep and senator as well as the MSM.
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jimbomoron
November 23, 2009 12:03 PM
The 2:1 age community rating is what we have here in MA. And we don't allow a smoker rating. [NY is the only state that doesn't allow for an age rating.]
I do agree with Howard Dean that 2:1 is really about as high as you can go with the age rating for health insurance to be affordable for older adults. Even at this rating, a 93% actuarial value health insurance policy (max $2,000 cost-sharing) for a 64-year-old empty-nester couple living in Boston costs around $24,000/yr. on the Connector. Which is still better -- far, far better than most states -- than you're going to get in any other state for the same level of coverage. But it's not enough.
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fbacon2
November 23, 2009 12:05 PM
I saw this interview today. Quite frankly, Dean needs to drop this rhetoric so late in the process. Fight to improve the bill, but let this idea be the final word from the left, that a $900/10 year health bill isn't real reform, and watch what the Republicans do with it.
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fbacon2
November 23, 2009 3:54 PM in reply to fbacon2
Oy. Surfing around the Internet today, and Dean's comments are having a toxic effect on the discourse. This kind of pessimism from somebody with his following this late in the process is really risky.
I think Dean is trying to rally people and the press to use reconciliation, which Democracy for America has been pushing for months, and he's using the Senate filibuster problem and the sinking media narrative to do it. But this is a dangerous game, especially if reconciliation isn't the magic bullet he's making it out to be.
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sashimi
November 23, 2009 12:10 PM
The darkness has stopped the progress again.
When they finally vote on the final bill, instead of calling it "the bill" it should be called "a guide: how to lower your expectations in your life".
Rainy Mondays are the WORST!
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ericf
November 23, 2009 1:19 PM
Dean's right on the last point, that people will like it once it goes into effect. Conservatives are scared not that it will fail, but that it will succeed and the debate will change to how to make incremental improvements instead of how to get rid of it. That's why delaying some reforms until 2014 bugs me. It's the typical compromise between a good idea and stupidity: do it half-assed.
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garp
November 23, 2009 1:29 PM
So far the media reporting on the senates role in this legislation is even more disturbing then it was leading up to the vote in the House.
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Juble
November 23, 2009 2:05 PM
there's really no insurance reform in this bill, already," Dean said on MSNBC.
No surprise here folks.Just brace yourselves for the "piss" that's gonna be thrown at you and then hear from Dem leadership that it's "holy water".
The Dem leadership is brazen enough to do it cuz they think we are all stupid to realize the con.
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