Blog Debate: The Runaway Train of Costs

Editor's Note:  Joining us this week for a blog debate about what approach we should take on health care reform in 2009 will be Dr. Don McCanne, a retired family physician now serving as Senior Health Policy Fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program, and Jason Rosenbaum, a writer and activist, and the Deputy Director of Online Campaigns for Health Care for America Now! Dr. McCanne will be presenting the "single-payer" point of view, and Mr. Rosenbaum will be presenting the "public competitor" point of view.  I will be moderating and asking questions to both of our experts-- including a question that was submitted by one of you!

Some quick background: HR 676, the “Medicare for All” bill which proposes to replace the private insurance industry with a single-payer system where the government covers everyone and pays for health care with dedicated tax revenue is the preferred option of groups like Dr. McCanne’s Physicians for a National Health Program, Healthcare-Now! (who have their own section on Change.org), and others.  A public competitor which would give individuals the choice of choosing public or private coverage and compete directly with the private insurance industry is the preferred option of groups like Mr. Rosenbaum’s Health Care for America Now!, the Commonwealth Fund and others.  Both plans have strong Congressional support – HR 676 had 93 co-sponsors in the House in the last Congress, and 64 in this one.  Health Care for America Now! has 185 representatives and senators who have agreed to its Statement of Common Purpose, including the President and Vice President.

I’m grateful for Dr. McCanne and Mr. Rosenbaum’s participation! By prior agreement, the format is as follows:  I will ask a question, one of them will give an answer, the other one will have a chance to respond, and the original debater will have an opportunity for a quick rebuttal before we move on to the next question. The order of debaters was determined by a coin toss. I’ll be posting a complete round of a question and its subsequent answers each day for the rest of the week.

The first question which, by coin toss, went to Jason Rosenbaum as follows:

During the March 5 White House summit on health care, the president said, “If we don't address costs, I don't care how heartfelt our efforts are, we will not get this done. If people think that we can simply take everybody who's not insured and load them up in a system where costs are out of control, it's not going to happen -- we will run out of money.” Obviously administrative waste in the private insurance industry is part of it, but not all –- a Dartmouth College study says we spend twice as much each year on treatments that are unnecessary or don’t lead to higher outcomes.

How does your solution help us get the runaway train that is the cost of health care in this country under control?

Update:

Read the response by Jason Rosenbaum of Health Care for America Now

Read the response by Dr. Don McCanne of Physicians for a National Health Program

Read Jason Rosenbaum's rebuttal

(Photo credit:  steakpinball on Flickr.)