August 2009

Farm Bureau watching health care reform debate

By Wayne F. Pryor

The debate over national health care reform heated up during the 2008 presidential campaign and has held many Americans’ attention ever since.

An estimated 46 million Americans currently do not have health insurance. Some have made a personal choice not to purchase it, while others cannot afford the premiums or cannot obtain insurance because of pre-existing conditions. Their plight has prompted discussions in Congress and the private health care sector.

In May, representatives from insurers, hospitals, medical practices and other interested health care parties proposed a plan that proponents say could save the United States
$2 trillion over the next decade by cutting health care costs. However, proponents of a national health care system don’t believe that will be enough to resolve concerns with the current health insurance system.

Congress recently began floating ideas to seek input about finding solutions to resolve the rising cost of health care and the growing number of uninsured. One proposal that has gained a significant amount of traction is the creation of a “public option” to be run by the government.

Proposals to pay for reforms have ranged from different “sin taxes” on alcohol and a federal tax on beverages sweetened with sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and similar sweeteners to taxing employees for receiving health insurance from their employers. At press time, the focus is on an income tax increase for the highest earners to fund the Obama administration’s health care initiatives.

Virginia Farm Bureau Federation has numerous advisory committees to look at issues that affect farmers and rural Virginia. One of those is the VFBF Rural Health Advisory Committee, which has been paying close attention to potential implications of health insurance reform proposals.

One of the biggest issues the committee saw was the addition of uninsured citizens without bankrupting the current Medicare system or drastically increasing premiums. They also wanted to understand how these changes would affect the local service that Farm Bureau members receive at their county Farm Bureau offices if they get their health care coverage through Farm Bureau.

If services were lost at the local level, would these reforms really improve our health care system and make it more affordable? Or would they be just a step closer to national health insurance?

In June, Farm Bureau staff and I met with some of Virginia’s Congressional delegation to discuss the implications of different health care proposals on Farm Bureau members and the private health care system. The Obama administration hopes to have a bill passed through Congress by summer recess and on the president’s desk by Oct. 1. This puts a significant amount of pressure on the Senate and House committees that will be debating this legislation.

Farm Bureau opposes any endeavor that would compete with the private health insurance system, and it is safe to say a government-run public option would do just that. Existing public plans such as Medicare and Medicaid provide less coverage than established private plans and restrict provider access at a much higher rate than the average employer-sponsored plan. Public plans also pay providers at a reduced rate; to compensate, providers shift onto private payers the cost of $1,500 a year per family.

The costs associated with creating a government-run health care option are estimated to lead to a trillion-dollar increase in the federal deficit. These resources should instead be directed toward subsidies for low-income individuals.

Farm Bureau does support different subsidies and premium assistance for low-income individuals and small business owners to help them obtain private coverage—but not at the expense of our private health care insurers.

I urge our members to continue monitoring the public debate about health care reforms. These changes will affect your everyday life and your business. Your Farm Bureau staff is monitoring these issues on a day-to-day basis and is looking for the most strategic opportunity to activate the grassroots network that has served us well for more than 80 years.

Stay tuned.

Wayne F. Pryor, a Goochland County beef and grain producer, is president of Virginia Farm Bureau.