Baldwin's efforts on health care reform

Baldwin’s efforts to advance health care- some good, but I'm not sure she understands the public plan option.

The Good…

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin has recently made an impact on some provisions in the health reform bill that will come up for a vote by the full House of Representatives in September. Baldwin won a late-minute approval for one of her amendments: to start a pilot program within Medicaid known as "accountable care" that would pay more for health results rather than individual services.

but…
Unfortunately the amendment only allows a pilot and not all out payment reform based on accountable care. Frankly there’s enough research and evidence already on this to simply start enacting this reform broadly. I presume that this is all she could get passed by the committee.


… and the misunderstood
(http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/tct/2009/07/31/0907310169.php)
On another note, in the above linked Capital Times Op-ed piece Baldwin made the case for the public plan option currently being hotly debated. Sad to say her case fell way short in her comparison of Wisconsin’s SeniorCare program to the public plan option proposed in the health care reform bill working its way through the House.

Baldwin wrote, “since 2003, Wisconsin has been offering a public option for seniors in need of prescription drug coverage who do not select the private plans in Medicare Part D. While SeniorCare is both wildly popular and hugely effective, private prescription drug insurance plans continue to flourish in Wisconsin, with a large number of available plans and fair premium rates.” What Baldwin doesn’t say however is that SeniorCare is only for low-income seniors with incomes up to $35,000 annually for a couple. There is no premium. Instead they pay a $30 annual enrollment fee and have copays and an $850 deductible.

So in reality SeniorCare is for low-income seniors and the private Medicare Part D plans are for everyone else. They don't actually compete at all and opens up the question of her understanding of the public plan option.