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| Source:CNBC- Governor Howard Dean (Democrat, Vermont) John Sheils and U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (Republican, Wisconsin) debating health care reform on CNBC. |
"Paul Ryan: Governor, the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] is telling us that the House bill doesn't address health inflation. Youve been very outspoken on that, and I want to compliment you on that, but the House bill doesnt address health inflation. According to the CBO, the expenses of the public plan go up 8% a year - thats more than even Medicare and Medicaid grow.
So what the CBO is telling us is were creating a huge new unfunded liability that even if this thing is paid for in the first ten years [which it wont be], after that youre going to a massive new unpaid-for entitlement on top of all the other ones weve already got. It wont address health inflation.
I worry that were not actually addressing the root cause of our problem, which is health inflation, which you and I really want to tackle."
From Speaker Paul Ryan
I think the key points here are choice, competition, and a level playing field when it comes to health care and health insurance reform in America. And you could do that with allowing non-seniors to pay into Medicare and use it as their main health insurer, as well as letting the states, instead of the Feds, manage this expansion of Medicare for their non-seniors, including young working adults, unemployed workers, as well as juveniles. But that this Medicare expansion or public option has to compete fairly and play by the same rules as every non-profit health insurer in America.
