To the Honorable Pres. Obama, Sen. Feingold, Sen. Herb Kohl and Rep. Tammy Baldwin:
Personally, I would prefer a single payer health care program. It wouldn’t cut out the insurance industry completely, just like the Medicare-Medicaid programs don‘t cut out the insurance companies completely; we need their expertise for processing claims.
However, I don’t believe we can attain that. Sen. Baucus and others are too short-sighted to tell the insurance companies to look at their advantages under a single payer plan. Under a single payer government sponsored plan, the insurance industry gets to perform the health industry services without underwriting any of the risks of insurance. They will be able to calculate what it will cost to process and pay the claims from the health insurance trust funds and know rather precisely what their margin of profit will be.
Since it looks like we won’t get a single payer plan, it is really essential for us to have the government option that Mr. Obama and his administration has asked for. The State of Wisconsin has such a plan in operation for its employees (which includes the University of Wisconsin employees as well). One of the features of this plan is that the Wisconsin legislature has established a standard plan. All insurers (HMOs, PPOs and other insurers) are required to provide coverage essentially and substantially equal to the standard plan. The standard plan is self-funded and the trust fund (financed by premiums), administered by the Group Insurance Board, underwrites the coverage. It works quite well and provides excellent insurance to all of the people covered by the various plans approved by the Group Insurance Board. These plans are made available to employees of the State of Wisconsin and those local governmental bodies that opt to participate in this insurance program. It is essential that Congress establishes a standard plan to which all insurers must provide coverage that is essentially and substantially equal. If not, there will be a myriad of insufficient coverages offered to the public, which will scam the public. This cannot be allowed to happen.
I recommend that Congress adopt such a plan to provide essential health coverage for all residents of the USA.
Respectfully, Donald Cleven, Madison, WI, 53716 dcleven@sbcglobal.net
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