By Judy DeMers
GRAND FORKS -- In a recent letter, Tom Osowski voices concern with how effectively health reform is addressing the skyrocketing cost of health care, noting the strain costly health insurance has put on his family budget ("Health care reform doesn't live up to name," Page A4, Sept. 7).
From my own personal experience, I understand the frustration that Osowski -- and many other Americans -- may be feeling with regards to health care costs.
But I must disagree with Osowski's claim that health reform does not curb the cost of health insurance, and he is completely off base in his criticism of North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad's work on health reform.
The new law, which was enacted a mere six months ago, was carefully drafted to be phased in over four years in order to avoid major disruptions during its implementation. The first major series of improvements under the new law became effective Sept. 23. These reforms will end lifetime limits on benefits, rescissions (the terminating of coverage by health insurers) and pre-existing condition exclusions for children.
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On Jan. 1, a second set of reforms will take effect. These changes include a limit on how much insurance companies can charge individuals and protocols to make sure insurance companies dedicate a greater portion of their profits to medical care.
By the time health reform is fully implemented, not only will 32 million more Americans be insured, but significant health care delivery reforms will have taken effect.
These delivery system reforms are designed to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, pay providers based on quality health care outcomes rather than the quantity of procedures performed and provide incentives for wellness and prevention.
These changes should help rein in the cost of health care for the Osowskis and families across the nation.
I was interested by Osowski's suggestion of expanding Medicare. He is right that Congress explored the option of a Medicare expansion during the debate over health reform. But what they found was that such a move could have destabilized the entire Medicare program and would not have helped control skyrocketing health care costs for the rest of the population.
As Osowski notes in his letter, "deficits do matter." And Conrad knows that better than anyone. That's why he led the charge to make sure the health reform bill reduced the deficit.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the health reform bill will reduce the deficit by $143 billion in the first decade and by $1.3 trillion in the second decade.
Furthermore, Conrad has been working with a bipartisan commission charged with developing a plan to address not only America's deficits, but the mounting challenge posed by the massive debt as well.
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The fact is, there are no silver bullets when it comes to reducing the cost of health care in this country. But the health reform law ends the most egregious abuses by insurance companies. It extends the solvency of the Medicare program. And it reforms our delivery system so that we begin reining in skyrocketing health care costs.
It is a good start, and I appreciate Conrad's efforts to reform the health insurance industry and make health care affordable for more North Dakotans.
DeMers, associate dean for student affairs and admissions at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, is a former Democratic state representative and state senator from Grand Forks.
