Voting for health care 'sausage'

B

y Dave Loebsack

As the colloquialism frequently used to talk about Washington and the meat industry goes, there are two processes you never want to see upfront – sausage production and lawmaking. The health care reform bill has had enough ups and downs to make even the strongest stomach queasy.

Over the course of nearly a year, the American public has watched as lawmakers attempted to craft legislation to reform health care, and now they watch as the legislative process nears a close.

As I write this, I am working on improvements for Iowa's health care providers, who receive payments that are among the lowest in the nation. A shift to the way Medicare payments are made will do wonders for Iowa's doctors, nurses, direct-care workers, and, in turn, Iowa patients, and I plan to fight until the very end on this issue that is so important to Iowa.

I have often said that I do not want to ram through a health care bill in the middle of the night. The American people deserve an open and honest process, and Iowans demand it. That is why the current bill is on my Web site, and will be updated as changes are made.

The reconciliation process is complicated and the arguments surrounding it are riddled with distortions. It is similar, in many ways, to how the entire health care battle has unfolded over the course of several months. While I have some serious qualms about the reconciliation process, I also have no doubt in my mind that health care reform is urgently needed.

This bill is not perfect and the process that has been chosen is not perfect either. However, I cannot tell the Iowans who attended my town halls, asking for reform, that I did not vote for this bill because I had concerns about the process.

In Eastern Iowa alone, this bill will give tax credits and other assistance to up to 156,000 families, and 13,700 small businesses to help them afford coverage. It will improve Medicare for 95,000 Iowans and create up to $700 in immediate savings on prescription drugs, eventually closing the prescription “donut-hole.” This bill also allows 54,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents' insurance plans.

This bill ensures that those who have insurance can keep their insurance if they like it. In fact, for the 416,000 Iowans in the Second District with insurance, this bill strengthens their insurance coverage by ensuring that no one can be kicked off their plan when they get sick. This bill will end the “hidden tax” that those with insurance pay, through their premiums, to cover the all-too-costly emergency care that those without insurance receive.

Throughout this year, I have heard from Iowans through town halls, phone calls to my office, and emails, and everyone agrees – something must be done. The current health-care system is unsustainable. This month, Iowans have been reeling from the rate increase proposed by Wellmark BlueCross BlueShield, a galling 18 percent.

It is time to act. I cannot tell the 32 million Americans who will be able to access quality, affordable health care because of this bill that I chose to deny them the insurance that could literally mean life or death. And I certainly cannot tell my grandchildren that I chose to vote against a bill that will cut the deficit by $130 billion within ten years.

I look forward to casting my vote for Iowa families and I look forward to coming home to Iowa to discuss how the sausage was made.

Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon is Iowa's Second District congressman. His Web site address is http://loebsack.house.gov/