KMC nurse favors bill
Every day, I see reasons Jim Costa should vote for health care reform. As a nurse at Kern Medical Center, I deal with patients awaiting surgery. I see what happens to uninsured and underinsured patients.
I understand Costa is concerned about the cost of healthcare reform. But this bill will really work to combat the biggest problem we face, the skyrocketing cost of healthcare.
A piece in the Wall Street Journal recently graded the legislation on how it would control costs. How did it do? Very well. Also:
* The bill would use insurance exchanges to cut down on underwriting and marketing costs in the individual market -- the same market in which Anthem Blue Cross recently tried to raise rates by 39 percent.
* It would tackle overpayments in Medicare Advantage and other programs.
* It would take steps away from paying health care providers based solely on volume, moving toward paying for quality care.
* It would empower an independent board, rather than interests with money at stake, to fine-tune Medicare so we get the biggest bang for our buck, while also going after fraud and abuse in the system.
The author of the Journal article, Harvard economist David Cutler, also says the bill will do more than the Congressional Budget Office claims it will. The CBO, he says, is biased in favor of straight cost-cutting and doesn't believe that efficiencies will result in savings. But it will -- as much as $600 billion.
CARMEN MORALES
Bakersfield
