Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Editorial: Flawed health reform
A House anti-abortion measure is despicable, but Congress must keep its eye on universal coverage.
From the RoundTable blog
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Passage Saturday of a House health care reform bill marked a historic step toward landmark legislation critical to the nation's future. The vote came, though, at a steep cost to women.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops virtually dictated an anti-abortion provision that would bar the use of federal subsidies for insurance that covers elective abortions. The ban would go beyond the expected prohibition under a government-run plan and reach into the private marketplace to block coverage even to women able to pay for itnsurance themselves.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was forced to accept the amendment to win over enough conservative Democrats to pass the bill. Liberals who went along now are threatening to block final passage if the amendment survives. They should leave that fight for a future day.
Health care reform that delivers near-universal coverage is critical to the health of the national economy and to the well-being of millions of Americans, including women. The Democratic Congress cannot falter before reaching that essential goal.
The House amendment has become a fault line between pro-life and pro-choice forces because it would prohibit abortion coverage not only in a government-run plan, but in any private plan that tapped into the huge new market of people who would be buying health insurance with the help of federal subsidies. Plans that offer the coverage likely would drop it.
That would be a strike against women's reproductive rights with more psychological than practical effect. According to a 2003 study by the respected Alan Guttmacher Institute, private insurance companies are billed for only 13 percent of abortions. Already, most state Medicaid programs, whose clients are the poorest of the poor, ban abortion coverage.
Yet, to those who cherish personal freedom, government intrusion where no taxpayer dollars are spent is a chilling precedent.
The Senate has yet to vote on a health care bill. If it passes one, and the abortion amendment survives to a final vote, reform would come with a bitter pill. It should not be a fatal one.
Political stalemate isn't a reasonable option.
