Truer words have probably never been spoken. I'm sure you've heard that sound bite a few hundred times by now.
As Americans, and industry professionals, we were glued to the television Sunday night watching the passing of the health care reform bill. Stomachs churned, hoping that in the end the voice of the American people would be heard. We all experienced the sinking disappointment our government had not listened to us after all, but instead crammed a bill through by the skin of their teeth to further their own liberal agenda.
As disturbed as I am by the actual content of the bill, I am far more disturbed by the process of bullying, back-room deals, and downright extortion with which this bill passed. I won't bore you with my opinion of the politics involved – we all have our own. However, as someone who's preached consumer-directed health care for the last 20 years I have to wonder was it all for naught.
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None of us really knows how this change ultimately will play out in our own lives, either. But I think we do know that moving in the direction of government entitlements moves us in the opposite direction of CDHC, personal responsibility and accountability for our own health. Just as we were slowly beginning to educate our clients on the need for behavior and lifestyle changes on behalf of the individual and the impact of these changes in regards to their health insurance premiums, the government goes and strips our efforts away by passing a bill that will once again put Americans back to the mind-set of "I can live any way I want to and the government will pick up the tab." And by the government, of course, I mean us, the taxpayers.
I am still in awe that the Democratic Party refuses to grasp the idea that health insurance premiums are expensive because health care and utilization are expensive. Why can't they see that addressing the symptoms instead of the cause is the wrong approach? I guess we'll just have to keep watching, making phone calls, and never stop educating our clients and the general public on the real purpose of health insurance.
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