eReality

As the January 20th, 2009 changing of the guard draws nearer, the debate heats up on nationwide healthcare reform. President-Elect Barack Obama has called for a massive health care reform that mandates U.S. children are medically insured; while Montana Senator Max Baucus has already released a proposal of his own that mandates all U.S. citizens obtain health care coverage.

Who is going to pay for this insurance and what the measure of affordability is are two huge open-ended questions, as highlighted in this MarketWatch.com article (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/debating-whats-fair-affordable-health-reform/story.aspx?guid={A14D9D02-0C97-40B3-B9EC-CA0AB6D46450}).

In the article, eHealth Senior Vice President Sam Gibbs is quoted as saying self-paid health insurance policies are "extremely affordable." With an average monthly premium of $158 for individuals and $366 for families (according to a study by eHealthInsurance, owned by eHealth), he might be right -- after all, who couldn't afford to pay those monthly payments?

The answer: A lot of people. An extra $150/month can go a long way towards groceries, utilities, child care, education and other worthwhile bills. And for families already strapped, nearly $400 tacked on each month could spell bankruptcy.

We're not talking about people with an annual salary of over $182,500, which Mr. Gibbs is reputed to make by Forbes.com (total compensation exceeds $320,000) (http://people.forbes.com/profile/sam-c-gibbs/28585). In reality, we're talking about people making $30,000 or $40,000 a year.

What's more, the MarketWatch article notes that a National Women's Law Center (http://www.nwlc.org/) report recently found that women are charged, on average, 18% -- and in at least one case, as much as 140% -- more for health insurance coverage than men. The same report also found that: "Only 12% of plans found in the individual market covered pregnancy services... so these wide variations have nothing to do with actual maternity coverage. You can in many cases buy a rider for maternity coverage, but they, too, are very expensive and don't give you much return for your money."

If Congress is to provide oversight to the medical insurance industry through guaranteed coverage and affordability, they must include provisions that all policies for women must cover maternity-related health costs, including prenatal care, delivery and all potential complications. Moreover, deductibles must be manageable -- the average deductible of $2,610 as reported by eHealthInsurance and published in the referenced MarketWatch article is simply too much for many women if they have to pay the deductible all at once and up-front in order to receive proper medical care. Prescriptions and vitamins needed during pregnancy must also be covered to ensure that America's unborn children are given the best chance at life.

The debate will rage on, it will take years to implement any health care overhaul, and there's no guarantee that a satisfactory solution will be found. In the meantime, provisions should be put in place to provide for pregnant women who can't afford or retain health insurance and make too much to qualify for state-sponsored welfare. If America can afford to bail out bankers, can't we afford to give our children a healthy head start?

You can read Senator Baucus' proposal here: http://finance.senate.gov/healthreform2009/finalwhitepaper.pdf. Take a look and let me know what you think.

I am PRO MOM!!!
Aaron Bouren
Advocate Aaron