Ten Million Dollars Per Week

Last year I posted both here and on Balkinization on the not-progressive-enough surcharge on top earners to help subsidize the health care coverage of the uninsured. Some critics contended that the recession would make the very well off so much worse off that concerns about inequality were outdated. Unfortunately, the trend toward more inequality has instead continued and those numbers, along with extraordinary updates, are worth considering again. Last year, I wrote:

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Dead Center

Photo by SriMesh

A lot of attention has focused on attempts by health reform proponents to woo what the press insists on calling “moderate” or “centrist” members of Congress.

But what constitutes a centrist position on health reform issues?

Apparently, opposing fair taxation, consumer protection laws, and regulation to make the health care market more competitive gets you branded a moderate these days. And despite their yelping about fiscal responsibility, neither the Blue Dogs (who seem to have ignored the real benefits of the Obama plan to working folks in their rural districts) or the “gang of six” on the Senate Finance Committee (who collectively represent 2.75 percent of the nation’s population) appear ready to vest real power in the government to reign in Medicare spending but at the same time are demanding more subsidies for providers in their communities.

So to get beyond misleading labels and see where they really stand on core issues, here’s a quick quiz that the press might pose to the putative centrists.

• Do you believe that the health reform initiatives should be funded by a progressive tax? If yes, do you regard a tax placed exclusively on families earning more than $350,000 as progressive? Does taxing health insurance premiums advance the goal of fairness?

• Do you believe that competition among insurers in the private market will control cost and reduce waste? If yes, why have insurers not succeeded over the last thirty years. If no, how would you improve their performance?

• Arguing against a public plan on the Senate floor, Senator Kyle recently offered the following pronouncement “The health insurance industry is one of the most regulated industries in America. They don’t need to be ‘kept honest’ by the government.”
Do you feel that the current regime of regulation of insurance companies provides Americans with adequate competition and consumer protection? Does the ERISA law help or hinder effective regulation?

• Will health insurance cooperatives–your alternative to the public plan–spring up in every market in the country? If not, what will insure competition works well in those markets without cooperatives?

• Is the current system of fee for service payments for doctors under Medicare efficient? Do you agree that payment systems that encourage continuity of care, rewards quality and elimination of waste would save money and produce better outcomes? Are regulations that move Medicare in that direction a move toward “socialized medicine”?

• What is the cost of “affordable health insurance” for a family of four earning $50,000 per year? Will the reduced subsidies under your plan enable them to buy insurance without sacrificing education, housing and other necessities?