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Hey all
I believe I got an actual personal reply from my senator. It's not like all the other cookie cutter ones I got recently and is not from a correspondence_reply email address but actually from the senators personal address.
I want to write a good reply that makes him/her think including lots of facts and I thought this would be the best place to come, considering many of you know much more about the economics and policy than I do.
Here is the email:
Dear xxx:
Thank you for writing me with your concerns about health care reform and a public plan option.
From the beginning of the health reform debate, I have expressed support for the inclusion of a public health insurance plan. I consider it essential for private insurers to have healthy market competition, which will increase efficiency and drive down prices. Currently, in *my state*, two insurance companies control 69% of the insurance market. These companies have little incentive to reduce their high administrative and marketing costs because they corner the market. Introducing a public plan that keeps costs low and provides a fair price to consumers would put the pressure on private insurers to change their practices for the better.
As Congress works towards making health reform a reality, my first priority is to ensure quality affordable health insurance for every American. I firmly believe that a public plan option would help to achieve this goal and will advocate for its inclusion in the final health reform bill.
I will continue to listen closely to what you and other *my staters* have to say about matters before Congress, the concerns of our communities, and the issues facing *my state* and the nation. My job is not about merely supporting or opposing legislation; it is also about bridging the divide that has paralyzed our nation's politics.
Start of my response:
Thank you so much for writing me back. Since I will soon be joining the medical profession, I too am interested in ways to make our health care system work efficiently and provide for the 50 million people that are currently uninsured and others that are under-insured.
I think you correctly analyzed the situation when you brought up the issue of administrative costs. A bulk of the reason insurance plans are so expensive is because of administrative costs (21-33 cents of each dollar spent on healthcare). In addition, 27 cents/dollar go towards end of life ICU care. ***I want to include other breakdowns of how each health care dollar is spent. I think neonatal care is a huge chunk, defensive medicine, etc. I also want to include how my physician salaries are...I think it's 2 cents/dollar?***While I agree a public option that actually does have low administrative costs would provide competition for insurance companies....
Now I want to include things like a public option that pays physicians avg of market for each local area and does not demand physician participation would be ideal. If insurance companies with such high admin costs can pay what they do, a public option should also. In addition I want to include how the GAO says that anesthesiologists don't get anywhere near market from the govt compared to other specialties. I want to make a link that we take up a low percentage of each health care dollar. Please add anything else you think will be relevant.
Thanks for your help
I believe I got an actual personal reply from my senator. It's not like all the other cookie cutter ones I got recently and is not from a correspondence_reply email address but actually from the senators personal address.
I want to write a good reply that makes him/her think including lots of facts and I thought this would be the best place to come, considering many of you know much more about the economics and policy than I do.
Here is the email:
Dear xxx:
Thank you for writing me with your concerns about health care reform and a public plan option.
From the beginning of the health reform debate, I have expressed support for the inclusion of a public health insurance plan. I consider it essential for private insurers to have healthy market competition, which will increase efficiency and drive down prices. Currently, in *my state*, two insurance companies control 69% of the insurance market. These companies have little incentive to reduce their high administrative and marketing costs because they corner the market. Introducing a public plan that keeps costs low and provides a fair price to consumers would put the pressure on private insurers to change their practices for the better.
As Congress works towards making health reform a reality, my first priority is to ensure quality affordable health insurance for every American. I firmly believe that a public plan option would help to achieve this goal and will advocate for its inclusion in the final health reform bill.
I will continue to listen closely to what you and other *my staters* have to say about matters before Congress, the concerns of our communities, and the issues facing *my state* and the nation. My job is not about merely supporting or opposing legislation; it is also about bridging the divide that has paralyzed our nation's politics.
Start of my response:
Thank you so much for writing me back. Since I will soon be joining the medical profession, I too am interested in ways to make our health care system work efficiently and provide for the 50 million people that are currently uninsured and others that are under-insured.
I think you correctly analyzed the situation when you brought up the issue of administrative costs. A bulk of the reason insurance plans are so expensive is because of administrative costs (21-33 cents of each dollar spent on healthcare). In addition, 27 cents/dollar go towards end of life ICU care. ***I want to include other breakdowns of how each health care dollar is spent. I think neonatal care is a huge chunk, defensive medicine, etc. I also want to include how my physician salaries are...I think it's 2 cents/dollar?***While I agree a public option that actually does have low administrative costs would provide competition for insurance companies....
Now I want to include things like a public option that pays physicians avg of market for each local area and does not demand physician participation would be ideal. If insurance companies with such high admin costs can pay what they do, a public option should also. In addition I want to include how the GAO says that anesthesiologists don't get anywhere near market from the govt compared to other specialties. I want to make a link that we take up a low percentage of each health care dollar. Please add anything else you think will be relevant.
Thanks for your help
