Principles

Of course I agree with the sentiments expressed by President Obama in his op-ed piece in the New York Times.  While more rallying cry than technical discussion, the President’s piece insists that health insurance reform is necessary, and he names four specific impacts which such legislation would have on the lives of ordinary Americans.

The first of these is affordable, portable insurance coverage for everyone, including those who are presently uninsured.

Then he mentions the broad goal of controlling costs and cutting systemic inefficiencies, and gives examples of ways in which such cost-cutting measures would impact other aspects of the system.

It is on his fourth point that President Obama’s editorial waxes the most eloquent with specific policy agendas for the legislation under discussion:

Our reform will prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of your medical history. Nor will they be allowed to drop your coverage if you get sick. They will not be able to water down your coverage when you need it most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or in a lifetime. And we will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. No one in America should go broke because they get sick. Most important, we will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups, preventive care and screening tests like mammograms and colonoscopies.

All of these are, as I say, admirable sentiments: goals which you would think our whole country could unite behind.

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