A Rebuttal to Howard Dean: I Am a U.S. Senator, and I Will Vote For This Bill

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Sat Dec-19-09 05:35 PM
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A Rebuttal to Howard Dean: I Am a U.S. Senator, and I Will Vote For This Bill

Sen. Paul G. Kirk, Jr.]

A Rebuttal to Howard Dean: I Am a U.S. Senator, and I Will Vote For This Bill

Chairman Dean deserves enormous credit for all the good work he did for the Democratic Party. But, his opinion piece begins by saying "If I were a Senator, I would not vote for the current health-care bill." He goes on to argue that the bill does not bring "real reform."

Signing his article as a "former chairman of the Democratic National Committee," I am sure, made Howard's comments particularly newsworthy, and I note that he is a guest on one of tomorrow morning's talk shows.

After reading many erroneous statements in the article that led him to his faulty conclusion, as they say in the world of health care--"we better get Howard a second opinion!"

As a former Chairman of the National Democratic Party myself, let me begin where Howard began, but by taking a contrary position. I am a United States Senator, and I will vote for the current health-care bill precisely because it does bring "real reform."

I hope Howard is reading, because I believe with a better understanding of the real reforms this bill does bring to America's health care system, he will join me as a forceful advocate for its enactment.

Let me first explain why I believe this bill is, in fact, the kind of "real reform" that Chairman Dean rightly seeks.

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And on one important point, with all due respect to my friend Chairman Dean, he is just plain wrong. He states that few Americans will see any benefit under this bill until 2014. In fact, as early as 2010 the Senate bill will do the following:

Establish a high-risk pool that will give uninsured Americans with a pre-existing condition access to coverage;
Prohibit insurance companies from dropping coverage for Americans because they get sick;
Prohibit the imposition of lifetime limits on coverage;
Require insurance companies to report the percentage of premium revenues that they spend on medical benefits for their enrollees, and force them to rebate any excessive costs or profits;
Require insurance companies to provide free preventive services;
Require insurance companies to cover dependents up to age 26;
Provide a discount on drug costs to seniors who fall into the Medicare Part D doughnut hole.
Provide a tax credit to small businesses that provide health insurance for their employees.
In these and other ways, the Senate bill is immediate and real reform.

For a senior citizen who cannot afford the drugs she needs, it is real reform. For the thirty one million people who will obtain life insurance, it is real reform. For families who worry that hospital bills will wipe out their life savings, it is real reform. For a system that fails to serve the needs of the American people, it is real reform.

I know there are many well meaning progressives who oppose this bill because it does not go far enough. They argue that if this bill is defeated, we will somehow rebound and pass still better legislation in the near future. Secure in that belief, they say they will not settle for a bill they view as imperfect.

I admire their optimism and idealism, but that is not the world in which we live. This fight must be won now. To be sure, there will be more to do. There will always be more to do. But this historic piece of legislation will be a giant step forward towards a health care system that finally and truly will begin to serve the needs of the American.

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