Spatz's Hatchet Job

It's difficult to believe Don Spatz sat through the entire health care forum at RACC a couple weeks ago.  If I hadn't seen him there at the end of the first row I'd think he'd missed it after reading his hatchet job of a column today.  The Reading Eagle reporter normally covers City Hall but was designated for broader duty that evening, probably due to the departure of Kori Walter.  The Eagle is trying to cover political news in a scattershot manner rather than hire a replacement for Kori and it shows.  Their Harrisburg news now comes via the AP wire.

I had a lot of respect for Kori.  He was fair and he always saw things from a centrist perspective.  He served as a gauge for me of how well we were getting our messages across to the public.  He was perceptive and gave everyone a fair shake.  Not so Don Spatz.  The Eagle is top heavy with arch conservative editors like Chuck Gallagher, John Forester and Spatz has written a number of columns over the years revealing his right wing tendencies.  Today's was a good example.

Spatz takes on a good friend of mine and an issue dear to my heart:  Chuck Pennacchio and health care reform.  I know Chuck extremely well.  In fact I'm having dinner Thursday evening with him and his family at their home in Plumsteadville.  Chuck and I have some work to do on the health care bill in the state legislature.  Afterwards I'm attending the Upper Bucks Democracy For America meeting.  I worked on Chuck's U.S. Senate campaign in 2004 and 2005 and ran it for several months.  You get to know a person incredibly well when you run their campaigns and Chuck Pennacchio is someone I truly admire.

That's why I was so offended by Don Spatz's column.  Not only did Don attend the forum at RACC but Chuck came to Reading last month for an editorial board meeting at the Eagle to discuss the bill.  There's literally no excuse for the Eagle to print errors like this about the bill.  It's irresponsible journalism.

Spatz refers to the physician who also conducted the RACC seminar as Chuck's "ally."  I don't think the two men ever knew each other before that event.  Dr. Davidson hasn't been involved in HELP Fund PA as far as I know and I've been involved in it for some time.  He was invited by the local organizers.  He did put on a very detailed examination of how our current health care system has failed and how we have shorter life spans and higher infant mortality rates than countries with universal, single payer plans.  Maybe Spatz slept through that part of the forum.

What bothers me most about this column is Spatz's complete condemnation of government services.  His assumption is that everything governments do is bad and inefficient.  Typical Republican hogwash.  It's only bad when Republicans run it because they don't understand the differences between government and business.  They always want to run government as business and you can't.  They do different things in different ways which is why some things need to be business run and other things government run.  When you try to privatize (business) government you spend tax money for someone's profits.  This isn't proper.  Private individuals and companies shouldn't be profiting at the taxpayer's expense, especially when government is far more efficient providing those services.

Health care is a perfect example.  For profit private health insurance has overheads between 16-30%  This is because of duplication of overhead (adjusters, actuaries, claims specialists, management, etc.),  marketing expenses, sales commissions, CEO salaries, and profits.  Don Spatz  doesn't seem to comprehend how 1 government health care worker can do the work of 25 in  private industry.  Let me explain for him:  a single payer system only needs one management bureaucracy, not hundreds.  There are, literally, hundreds of health insurance companies, all with their own actuaries, adjusters, accountants, claims specialists and management.  Our program has one.  That's why Medicare has overhead of 3%.  It's actually quite simple if you're smart enough to comprehend that one management system is more efficient than hundreds.  Duh.

The savings from that cut in overhead is enough to cover everyone with full, comprehensive health care.  For example the two CEO's of the state's Blues, Highmark and Independence, make $4.3 million this year.  How much money do you think just the Blues spend on advertising?  Millions.  Then you have sales commissions.  They also contribute quite generously to political campaigns, especially the Governor's.  Each union providing coverage for their workers gets a healthy commission from the Blues and other companies.  Every insurance agent receives a nice commission.

This all adds up to big money.  Spatz also decries having government handling the money.  He says there will be strings attached.  Yes, it'll require doctors, hospitals and other providers to render actual medical care instead of spending inordinate amounts of time and money trying to collect their fees.  See insurance companies don't like to pay benefits.  They aren't in business to give you health care they're in business, and the law actually requires this, to MAKE MONEY.  The more health care they deny the more money they make.  The Blues stopped being non profits in 1986.  Check their cash reserves if you think for a second they aren't in this to make money.  Look at their salaries.

Insurance companies are also, historically, prone to scamming people.  Periodically there's a new one targeted at the uninsured.  They sign people up then deny benefits.  By the time the state catches up with them people are dying because they got scammed by another health insurance company.  Just try getting medical care paid for if you get hurt at work, in a business or in an auto accident.  These for profit insurance companies refuse to pay a dime until you sue them.  The litigation costs of our broken system are huge.  It isn't only the malpractice legal issues involved here but the routine legal costs.

It's easy for people working at the Eagle to get all sanctimonious about health care, after all, they have it.  The company provides it and the paper isn't competing in a global economy for subscribers.  They haven't felt the pressures of trying to compete against businesses which don't have to pay 30-40% of their payrolls for health care.  Their employees don't worry what'll happen if they get cancer or need a transplant.  It's easy to ignore the problems of us "little people" when you're one of the "haves."

There are 47 million Americans with no health coverage and many more underinsured.  People are dying every day because they don't have coverage.  Something has to be done and burying your head in newsprint isn't a valid response.

Spatz is correct on one aspect:  the health insurance industry is fighting us tooth and nail.  They don't want to lose their gravy train.  These executives make big money fleecing patients and doctors.  Lawyers laugh all the way to the bank suing them constantly trying to get people's bills paid.  Both sectors have vested financial interests in perpetuating the failed system.  If you've ever fought an insurance company for your benefits contact Don Spatz ([email protected]) and tell him your story.  Maybe then he'll comprehend how broken things are for the rest of us.

Comments

[InsanityRules]

Let me make sure I have this right: The people behind merger-mania can't comprehend the efficiency of one giant monopoly? Don't ya' just love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning?

I was against government involvement in health care for many years. I am currently employed by a major university and have what Bush referred to as "gold-plated" health care. Despite this high-end program with one of the commonwealth's largest insurers, EVERY CLAIM IS A STRUGGLE!

Even when you have good insurance, they throw every possible roadblock up to avoid actually paying any claims. Bureaucracy, incompetence, paperwork glitches, obscure rules, unfathomable phone trees, interminable hold times and on and on. It is obviously they are padding their bottom line just by trying to antagonize their customers into not pressing claims.

The insurance industry had their chance to straighten out the mess, but under Bush and a Republican congress the situation has become completely intolerable. They don't deserve another chance - the time has come for single payer.

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m763k

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m763k

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[John Morgan]

Ask anyone who has had a major injury or illness and they'll believe insurance companies intentionally deny and stall hoping you'll die before your claim or lawsuit is settled. Then, of course, they don't have to pay anything. That's the state of health care today.