June 24th, 2009

Two of the latest developments in the national campaign for healthcare reform have to do with President Obama’s timetable for reform and the push for a national public health plan.

Reports Reuters on when President Obama says reform will happen, and how:

President Barack Obama said in an interview aired on Wednesday that he “absolutely” will get healthcare reform completed in 2009 but declined to say what the final package would eventually look like.

“Yes, absolutely,” Obama said on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” when asked whether an overhaul will be completed this year. “We’re going to get it done.”

But Obama declined to say whether he would sign a bill that taxes healthcare benefits, an idea backed by some lawmakers in Congress.

“I’m going to wait and see what ideas they come up with. I suspect that when they start seeing what the options are, they might end up concluding that the options we’re presenting are the best ones,” he said.

Obama said he would prefer to reduce tax deductions for the wealthiest to pay for the overhaul.

The United States spends some $2.5 trillion annually on healthcare, about 16 percent of gross domestic product, but trails many developed countries on important measures of health. Some 47 million Americans are uninsured and have little access to the healthcare system.

Reuters also reports on the recent findings of a U.S. healthcare policy group:

 A nationwide health insurance exchange that includes a Medicare-like government option could save $1.8 trillion more than if only private plans are offered, a prominent private U.S. health policy group said on Wednesday.

Federal spending on health-related costs would still rise from 2010 to 2020, but they would be less with a plan that pays doctors and hospital rates similar to the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund.

The New York-based health policy research group compared possible savings a health insurance exchange could bring under three different scenarios. One would include a Medicare-like plan along with private insurance. Another would instead offer a government-run plan with rates somewhat higher than Medicare. The final one would be private insurance with no government plan at all.

Such an exchange would offer a central point for consumers to shop for and compare health plans.

Check out Reuters’ entire article.