Sebelius: Health Care Reform not a "prelude to a single-payer system" [View All]

[grantcart]

Very very disappointing

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/05/06/1924374.aspx

Sebelius spent much of the hearing trying to reassure skeptical Republicans that a public insurance option would not undermine the existing private system and was not a "prelude" to a single-payer, government-run system. But she repeatedly said the playing field now is not level -- because private insurers can "cherry pick" the healthiest patients to make a profit while declining coverage to the sickest.

Sebelius said the administration was committed to ensuring that Americans who are happy with their coverage now would not be forced to switch companies or switch doctors. She also implied that changing the payment system to focus more on "outcome" -- i.e. does the care make people healthier? -- was a philosophy that any reform plan should embrace.

The Band Aid approach will not work.