Bipartisan Effort Needed To Meet Demand for U.S. Health Reform, Letter to the Editor States
Former Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas) in a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece "is remembering the mindset of the 1994 health care debate," Sens. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) write in a Journal letter to the editor, adding, "We understand that mindset because we, along with many [co-sponsors of the Healthy Americans Act], were in Congress then and on opposite sides of the Clinton health reform debate" (Bennett/Wyden, Wall Street Journal, 5/22). The legislation would effectively eliminate the employer-sponsored health care system and replace it with a system in which individuals would purchase private health coverage through state-run purchasing pools. All residents would be required to obtain coverage (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/2).
Bennett and Wyden write, "Today is not 1994. The political climate has changed, the health care crisis has worsened and Americans are no longer looking for a solution; they are demanding one." That demand can only be met by "working in a bipartisan effort, incorporating both Republican and Democratic principles," according to Bennett and Wyden.
They write, "We believe that every American should have affordable, private health insurance," adding, "The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation have reviewed our bill and reported that it achieves that goal while cutting down costs and saving the government money." According to Bennett and Wyden, the Healthy Americans Act will empower consumers "with both incentives and the responsibility to choose the [health] plan that best meets their needs, and insurers will compete on the basis of price, benefits and quality" (Wall Street Journal, 5/22).
