Guest columnist
Congressional representatives returning home for the recess are facing constituents who are confused and concerned over Washington's plans for health reform. Some in Congress have exploited the situation by resorting to the oldest tactic in the political playbook: find a villain. In this case the villain is insurance companies. Health care reform has suddenly morphed into health insurance reform.
Insurers, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, are committed to reform that builds on the strengths of our system while making it more inclusive. The excessive cost of providing health care is our health care system's core problem. At BCBSNC we continue to focus on three strategies to address it: supporting programs that improve quality and effectiveness of care, promoting better health through preventive care and lifestyle changes and moving toward hospital and physician payments that reward better care, not just more care.
Not only are insurers in favor of getting this done, it's critical to our business. When the President says "insurance works pretty well for insurers," he is perhaps forgetting that unrestrained cost increases are exceedingly bad for the insurance business. At current cost increase trends, it won't be long until our products are priced out of reach for huge numbers of our current customers. That's not good for our industry and it is surely not good for America.
At a recent town hall meeting in Raleigh, the President said it's high time for insurers to cover mammograms and to eliminate exclusions for pre-existing conditions. The fact is Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has been covering mammograms for 20 years now. In fact, we've been a leader in expanding coverage when it makes sense. We were the first insurer in the nation to cover obesity as a primary health condition, just as one example.
It is especially surprising that President Obama is demonizing the insurance industry when that industry has been at the table from the beginning and supports much of the rest of the President's efforts to reform health care. For example, the insurance industry has publicly offered to stop looking at pre-existing conditions and health status when pricing insurance, as long as the insurance pool is broadened to include everyone -- sick, well and in-between -- to help spread out costs.
By vilifying insurers, many in Congress are hoping to build support for a government-run health insurance plan that would undermine private-sector insurance and harm doctors, hospitals and other health care professionals. But what legislative leaders don't understand is that most people are not in favor of blowing up a health care system that, for all its faults, generally meets the needs of those with coverage now.
Yes, it's important to extend that coverage to everyone. And some people -- particularly those who buy their own individual coverage -- face costs or benefit exclusions that leave them with insufficient financial protection. Yet, the fact is that four of five Americans are generally satisfied with their coverage, according to a recent survey by ABC News and the Washington Post. The immediate goals of reform should be to make existing coverage more secure, and to provide coverage to the millions who don't have it.
Government has an important role to play in helping subsidize and equitably spread the cost of coverage, and in gathering and disseminating data on what treatments work best. But another government-run health insurance plan is not necessary. Working together to fix what's wrong with our current health care system is by far the faster and more practical approach.
The proposed public plan is complex and costly and doesn't achieve President Obama's stated goals of controlling costs and improving quality. White House officials have added to the confusion with conflicting statements about what they will, or will not support. Faced with such complexity, it is human nature to crave a simple solution. However, as H.L. Mencken observed, "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, clear and wrong." In this case, a government-run health insurance plan would be the wrong answer.
Please visit www.nchealthreform.com for more information on our take on health reform that works.
Bob Greczyn is president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
