Mike Ross Likes Baucus' Bill, Loves Co-ops

From The Hill we learned that Mike Ross (D-Ark) sent a letter to his constituents praising the Baucus' bill.

Ross used most of the letter to strongly endorse Conrad's small state-based co-ops idea. This should surprise no one given the overwhelming evidence that Ross has being working directly and/or indirectly with Conrad to get the co-ops idea included in the House bill.

Last week, the Senate Finance Committee unveiled its health care reform bill – the fifth version of health care reform presented on Capitol Hill. The controversial government-run public option is not included. In its place is a uniquely (and familiar) American proposal - a co-op. Co-ops have been around for years and not just in health care. Many of you are probably familiar with electrical co-ops and farmers’ co-ops. As a nonprofit, member-owned group, a health care co-op would operate similarly in that they are controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions, and a member-elected governance board. And, unlike private companies where voting power is based on the number of shares you own, each member gets one equal vote.

Membership would be completely voluntary and open to any individual or family interested. The co-ops could operate on state or regional levels and startup money would most likely come from the federal government through grants or loans.

(emphasis mine)

It is too bad that Congressman Ross used his letter to mislead his constituents about the co-ops idea. Membership with in fact not be open to “any individual or family interested.” According to Baucus's Mark “CO-OP grantees would compete in the reformed individual and small group insurance markets.” Therefore the co-ops would not be an option for “any individual or family interested,” but would be restricted to only accepting memberships from a very small segment of the population.

Ross Admits experts believe a “co-op would need at least 500,000 members in order to succeed.” Given that Arkansas has just under 3 million people and the strong restricts placed on co-op membership, it would be nearly impossible for an Arkansas statewide co-op to ever get enough members to be viable.

Baucus' Number One Goal Is A Bill That Just Looks Pretty

A new article in The Hill about Medicaid expansion speaks volumes about why Baucus is the wrong person to write health care reform. He is quoted as saying:

“We can’t foot the entire bill for the states. We just can’t do that,” Baucus said. “We can’t let U.S. taxpayers pay the full state bill” for the expansion.

This claim is stupidity in its purist form, and I know Baucus is not stupid. It is not like states' revenue comes from magical pots of gold. Whether through state taxes or federal taxes, the U.S. taxpayer will be paying the bill either way. People don't care if their higher taxes are the result a new federal tax or just a federal mandate that causes an increase in their states' taxes.

What Baucus is really saying is that it is more important that his bill looks good instead of being good. Looking at his top priorities it is clear his number one goal is that the he writes a bill that looks pretty. He wants it to be “bipartisan.” He wants it to come in below the random (but pretty) round number of a $1 trillion. He wants his bill to be “paid for.”

The problem is that Baucus achieves his goal of a pretty bill in the worst ways possible. Instead of looking for real reforms to drive down cost, he uses short cuts, loopholes, budget tricks, and cost shifts.

Covering the uninsured costs a lot of money, so Baucus “reduces” the cost of his bill by simply leaving some 17 million Americans uninsured. Real health insurance is expensive, so Baucus just watered down the minimum definition of what qualifies as insurance. Expanding Medicaid would require a large financial commitment, so Baucus just shifts the price tag off of his bill and on to the state budgets. To make his bill cost less than $1 trillion over 10 years, he only expands coverage for 7 of the 10 years.

Baucus' is writing a bad health care reform bill because he has all the wrong priorities. He is more focused on optics than on quality. Instead of making his goal to provide every American with affordable insurance, he has placed more importance on writing a bill that looks good. His bill will appear cheap but at a great cost to the working class Americans who really need help.