McCain article accurate, then gets worse

The article I posted Thursday, Bill to improve health care…in Mexico!, was favorited at digg.com (thank you). An appearance on digg.com means many more readers, and that’s good. Voters really should have as many alternative news sources and hear as many differing opinions as possible.

Unfortunately, among the hundreds of comments the article generated, some charged that the article was inaccurate. They buried it, and now there is a big red

Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate

above the title.

The article was about Section 1004, "Binational public health infrastructure and health insurance" of Title X, "Promoting Access to Health Care," of the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, sponsored in the Senate by the man who now calls himself the presumptive Republican nominee for the office of the presidency, Senator John McCain.

In my view, having access to the important information contained in the article would help a voter make a more informed decision about whom to support in the voting booth next November. It’s very unfortunate, I think, that a few people were able to torpedo the article with the charge of inaccuracy. Particularly, since the article is accurate.

As near as I can tell, those who labeled the article inaccurate did so either

because they misread the plain language of the bill,
for purely partisan reasons,
because they accidentally looked up the wrong bill, or
because they don’t understand the way Congress works.

SEC. 1004. BINATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE AND HEALTH INSURANCE.

(a) Study-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall contract with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (referred to in this section as the `Institute’) to study binational public health infrastructure and health insurance efforts.

(2) INPUT- In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Institute shall solicit input from border health experts and health insurance companies.

(b) Report-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary of Health and Human Services enters into a contract under subsection (a), the Institute shall submit a report concerning the study conducted under subsection (a) to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the appropriate committees of Congress.

(2) CONTENTS- The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the recommendations of the Institute on ways to expand or improve binational public health infrastructure and health insurance efforts.

For example, some of those who buried my article noted that the text of the bill only authorizes a study of binational health care. They were like, so what? It’s only a study.

This strikes me as being unaware of the way things work in Congress. By itself, the authorization of a federal study is a good first step toward creating a new program.

But the McCain bill didn’t stop with just a study of binational health care. The bill required the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to submit recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and to the relevant committees in the House and the Senate for

finding ways to expand or improve binational public health infrastructure, and
finding ways to expand or improve binational health insurance.

The McCain bill didn’t even stop there. The bill explicitly granted seats at the table to the insurance industry and to border health experts (whatever border health is). That’s pretty amazing, when you consider that the insurance industry is arguably a major reason US health care is already in crisis.

Moreover, as it stands now, the insurance industry isn’t exactly on the outside looking in.

Over the last ten years, the insurance industry has purchased nearly one billion dollars worth of influence through its lobbyists in Washington. A substantial portion of the influence was purchased directly from the Department of Health and Human Services (Center for Responsive Politics). Though HHS was created to operate 100 percent with our best interests at heart, it now operates with some portion of itself having the best interests of the insurance industry at heart (we still pay for 100 percent of HHS’ operations, however).

Hiring lobbyists to bend public policy away from the public and towards its own profit isn’t the only means by which the insurance industry wields power in our democracy. By itself, for example, the insurance industry has already injected over $15 million so far in direct contributions to candidates in this presidential race, according to an analysis of FCC data published one week ago by the Center for Responsive Politics (check out their awesome new networking tool, the MoneyWeb, at OpenSecrets.org, and see "Cost of ‘08 Presidential Race Already Tops All Elections Prior to ‘04")

Spreading that kind of cash around Washington ensures the insurance industry lots of clout. But John McCain wanted to give the industry even more clout. His bill explicitly granted health insurance companies a place at the table during the federally funded process of finding ways to expand and improve health insurance in the US/Mexico region.

What do you suppose the industry could add? Pay special attention to paragraph 4, below from the Findings section of the 2007 incarnation of the McCain/Kennedy amnesty:

(c) Sense of Congress Regarding Bilateral Partnership on Health Care-

It is the sense of Congress that the Government of the United States and the Government of Mexico should enter into a partnership to examine uncompensated and burdensome health care costs incurred by the United States due to legal and illegal immigration, including–

(1) increasing health care access for poor and under served populations in Mexico;

(2) assisting Mexico in increasing its emergency and trauma health care facilities along the border, with emphasis on expanding prenatal care in the United States-Mexico border region;

(3) facilitating the return of stable, incapacitated workers temporarily employed in the United States to Mexico in order to receive extended, long-term care in their home country; and

(4) helping the Government of Mexico to establish a program with the private sector to cover the health care needs of Mexican nationals temporarily employed in the United States.

McTionary: glossary of terms:
McCainese	US English
helping the Government of Mexico	using the tax money of American wage-earners
to establish a program with the private sector to cover the health care needs	to buy a group health insurance plan from US insurance corporations
of Mexican nationals	for foreigners
temporarily employed	imported as cheap labor by US corporations and driving down the wages
in the United States.	of American wage-earners in the United States