Surprisingly and refreshingly, Republicans and Democrats agreed on many important issues during the health care summit. Not surprisingly, the most controversial issues have yet to be resolved. In particular, regulation and coverage are the two biggest differences that remain after the day of debate.
Really, it all comes down to the ideological differences. Democrats want the government to regulate insurance companies and set guidelines for health insurance across the country. They believe that every American has the right to health insurance coverage and plans to expand coverage to every citizen.
On the other hand, Republicans do not believe that the government should control the insurance industry. In addition, the Republican Party believes that federal public health insurance programs, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, should not be expanded.
But what was clearly established today is that both parties believe that there should be insurance market reforms in one way or another. It’s just that the Democrats prefer stricter reforms and baselines than the Republicans.
Now on to today’s summit…
Small differences remained on allowing small businesses and individuals to enter an exchange or a pool. This would allow insurers to spread out the risk of insuring individuals and small businesses and keep health costs down.
There was some agreement on purchasing health insurance across state lines. But President Obama added that providing baseline protections for consumers would be necessary. Obama used the example of when credit cards could be bought from any state, credit card companies moved to states that had fewer protections. Without proper regulation, argued President Obama, this same thing would also happen in the insurance industry.
Another controversial issue discussed was medical malpractice caps, also known as tort reform. President Obama reiterated that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is currently working with states and giving states incentives to figure out a way to reduce medical malpractice lawsuits. The president said he was interested in hearing different strategies of cutting malpractice costs.
We did think it was interesting that the Democrats never renounced using the procedure tactic known as budget reconciliation to pass health care reform with a simple majority. Democrats also rejected the idea of starting over on health reform, which is something Republican leaders are calling for.
Regardless of these differences, President Obama did seem very pleased at the end of the summit. The president even said the summit demonstrated how much the two parties were in agreement.
What will actually come of the this health care summit will continue to unfold in the next few weeks.
If you’d like to read more about what we thought about the summit, check out our GoHealthInsurance Twitter page.