Bernanke urges healthcare remedy
Lawmakers lay the groundwork for legislative push for change
WASHINGTON - Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, told Congress yesterday that health spending would "rise relentlessly" unless lawmakers overhauled the healthcare system, and he recommended an eclectic approach.
His remarks opened a daylong bipartisan symposium convened by the Senate Finance Committee to lay the groundwork for what leaders of both parties predict will be a major push for healthcare legislation next year.
"We will move quickly in 2009," said Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, the chairman of the committee.
Baucus suggested that "some kind of federal health board" could help Congress make technical policy decisions. "How in the world am I supposed to know what the proper reimbursement rate should be for a certain procedure?" he asked.
Bernanke said Congress could establish an independent healthcare panel like the one used to recommend the closing of military bases. Congress, he said, could approve or reject the panel's recommendations, but not amend them.
Alternatively, Bernanke said, Congress could establish a commission like the Federal Reserve Board to set health policy. But, he said, such a panel would need "very clear guidance from Congress," because healthcare accounts for "an enormous part of our economy."
"At some point," Bernanke said, "healthcare spending as a share of gross domestic product will stop rising, but it is difficult to guess when that will be, and there is little sign of it yet."
At the end of the day, Democrats and Republicans appeared to agree on this much: All Americans should be insured, but they should have a choice of private health plans competing in the market alongside government programs.
"Democrats are right in saying that if you are going to fix the system, you have to cover everybody," said Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, "Republicans are right in saying that you have to have markets, choices, and private alternatives."
The impatience of some Republicans was expressed by Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee.
Healthcare is "the number one economic issue in our country," Grassley said, but "Congress does not seem to have the political guts to do anything about it."
Craig R. Barrett, the chairman of Intel, expressed immense frustration at the inefficiency of the healthcare system, and he said employers were determined to do something about it.
Almost every other industry "has automated itself and now pays less for better quality," Barrett said. Employers will demand similar changes in healthcare, he added.
President Bush and members of both parties have proposed giving new tax breaks to individuals, including employees, so they can shop for health insurance on their own.
Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, described that idea as "a political nonstarter." It would, he said, threaten coverage for many of the 160 million people who receive health benefits through their employers. 