The following is the statement of Ron Pollack, Executive Director of the health consumer organization Families USA, about the Health Reform Summit that will take place later today:
“There is a huge contrast between the ways the President and congressional Republican leaders have approached today’s Summit.
“The President has offered a detailed, meaningful proposal that moderates skyrocketing health care costs, remedies insurance company abuses, extends coverage to working families, and reduces the federal deficit. The Republican leaders have basically said ‘no.’
“Some Republicans have signaled that they may offer several piecemeal ideas as an alternative to meaningful reform. Such piecemeal ideas, however, would not only give false hope to Americans needing real reform, but they may also do much more harm than good.
“For example, banning insurance company pre-existing condition exclusions without expanding health coverage will result in skyrocketing premiums as sicker and older people secure coverage and younger, healthier people abandon such coverage.
“Meaningful reform is essential for America’s families and businesses, and the cost of doing nothing is far too high. The failure to enact meaningful reform will result in too many and growing denials of needed care—with many people paying the ultimate price of premature, avoidable death.
“For America’s working families, the failure to act will not only result in denials of needed care, but will also increase personal bankruptcies, perpetuate wage stagnation, and leave people vulnerable to the many harmful abuses by insurance companies.
“For America’s businesses, the failure to act means more and more companies will drop employee health coverage, fail to create new jobs, and lose ground in international competitiveness.
“The Summit needs to catalyze prompt action to achieve meaningful reform.
“If the congressional Republicans fail to offer a meaningful alternative to the President’s proposal, we urge the Congress to move expeditiously to enact the President’s proposal into law.”
