Ted Kennedy Renews His Call for Health Care Reform
When Congress finally votes on health care legislation, "a century-long struggle will reach its climax," Kennedy wrote. He said he believes the bill will pass, "and we will end the disgrace of America as the only major industrialized nation in the world that doesn't guarantee health care for all of its people."
Reflecting on the nation's struggle to reform health care, as well as his own medical struggles, Kennedy lays out basic principles any reform effort must meet. He emphasizes that "incremental measures won't suffice anymore." His narrative reveals, however, how complicated and divisive certain elements of reform have become.
Kennedy detailed the elements of reform he considers essential, such as a mandate for all Americans to get coverage, a focus on preventive medicine, enabling people to keep their current health care and cutting health care costs.
"We also need to move from a system that rewards doctors for the sheer volume of tests and treatments they prescribe to one that rewards quality and positive outcomes," he wrote.
One main proposal under discussion as a way to reform incentives in the health industry is called comparative effectiveness research, which aims to find the best treatments at the best prices. Many conservatives are opposed to this proposal, however, on the premise that it would deny coverage for certain experimental treatments -- those that have not been proven effective.
Kennedy relates how his own family benefited from experimental treatment when his son Teddy underwent massive doses of chemotherapy for bone cancer.
"Our family had the necessary resources as well as excellent insurance coverage. But other heartbroken parents pleaded with the doctors," Kennedy wrote. "No parent should suffer that torment. Not in this country. Not in the richest country in the world."
Kennedy also called a government-sponsored insurance option "one of the most vital" components of reform. Detractors have referred to this proposal as "socialized medicine" -- a critique thrown at health care reform proposals since the days of Harry Truman, Kennedy pointed out.
The public plan "will foster competition in pricing and services," Kennedy wrote. "It will be a safety net, giving Americans a place to go when they can't find or afford private insurance, and it's critical to holding costs down for everyone."
How America responds to the challenges of health care, he wrote, "will define our character as a country."