H O W A R D S B E N D

Remember the “Golden Age for Democrats” when they controlled the Presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate – three branches of government all at the same time.  This wonderful and glorious period lasted all the way from January 2009 up to and including December 2010.  What a fantastic period for the Democrats.  Although no really significant piece of legislation passed, unless you want to count the Healthcare Reform bill, it was still fun to be able to boast to our Republican friends that the Democrats controlled  three branches of government.

Well, the Republicans have handed the Democrats the opportunity to usher in the Second Golden Age for Democrats.  On April 15 of this year, 235 Republicans in the House voted in favor of the Ryan budget which would replace our traditional system for Medicare with a voucher system in which the federal government would pay a fixed sum to a Medicare recipient and this individual would have to go out to the private insurance marketplace and try to secure medical health insurance at whatever premium was then available.  They quickly learned at their town hall meeting during the Easter break that the American people might be for smaller government but not at the expense of their Medicare.  Harry Reid, moving with as much speed as he could muster, brought the same Ryan budget proposal to the Senate floor for a vote where 40 Republicans voted in favor of the bill that would end “Medicare as we know it.”

The Republicans are on the ropes.  They are being pounded in the polls where recent surveys should that 70% of Americans oppose the Ryan Plan.  They are being pounded in special elections as voters resist Republican candidates that support the Ryan budget.  Now is the time for the Democrats to provide the knockout punch.  The Democrats in the Senate  should immediately pass a bill that converts the medical coverage for members of the House and Senate to a voucher system.  Then the House members, especially the Republicans would then have to vote for a bill that converts their “Cadillac” health insurance program to a voucher system.  I would love to see Paul Ryan voting for a program that puts him on a medical insurance program that is paid for with a fixed voucher.  I guarantee we will see many House Republicans voting against a system that they recently supported. “First they were for it and then they were against it.”

The Democrats in the Senate should next bring up a bill that would offer the “voucher” program to all seniors starting today on a voluntary basis.  Seniors today, on voluntary basis, could chose to receive $800/month from the government and they would be responsible to secure private health insurance on their own.  The House Democrats who do not have the power to bring forth legislation could embarrass the House Republicans to pass a similar bill as this is the plan that they envisioned to save Medicare and have boasted would cut federal spending.  However, the plan to start will be on a voluntary basis with the voucher available today for and any senior deciding to go this route.The Democrats would claim that if this concept works, the program could be expanded.

The passage of such a bill would drive home the false nature of these Republican promises.  First, we can assume that this program will have very little interest to the overall senior population.  We will see what percentage of the senior population opt for this program and we will see which income levels this plan might appeal to.  Second, we will be given exact costs for a private healthcare plan for a senior with pre-existing conditions.  There will be no more hypotheticals.  We will be able to see what the monthly premium will be for a senior with diabetes and high blood pressure.  We will see if a senior with a history of cancer can secure private health insurance which would cover all the costs of his treatment.  We will see what major medical procedures are allowed and those that are disallowed by the private health insurance company.  We will also be able to compare costs and customer satisfaction between the public and the private plans.

The Republicans like to claim that the American people want choices and that the private market is the fairest judge of pricing services.  Therefore, I believe that if the Democrats in both Houses move to pass a Republican styled voucher system for healthcare, but on a voluntary basis, all the flaws and shortcomings of such a system will be exposed and as a result all the 235 House Republicans and 40 Senate Republicans would be questioned on their understanding of the country’s problems.  It will be clear that these Republicans are hypocrites and do not have real solutions for Medicare.  These pieces of legislation should result in total defeat of the Republican Party in the 2012 elections.