EDITORIAL: A new movement to improve access to health insurance

Jan. 06--Wanted: A political movement to sell the benefits of universal health insurance that (a.) is affordable, (b.) manages rising costs and (c.) makes the nation healthier.

The need for such a group of citizen advocates has never been more necessary.

With majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, Republican power-brokers are plowing ahead with plans to undo the Affordable Care Act (ACA). What comes next is a mystery. If there's a plan, no one is sharing.

Since the ACA passed in 2010, President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats have never found a message that resonated with a bipartisan majority of Americans. Parts of Obamacare are popular, according to polling, but a sizeable portion of the nation remains convinced it's worse than the expensive, inefficient and cruel non-system it replaced.

So, one side of the political divide is ready to kill Obamacare and then jump out of the plane without a plan or a parachute. The other side -- as Obamacare's demise appears inevitable -- is scrambling to tout the benefits of a program that has improved health care of Americans but is also in need of upgrades.

The country needs a new movement to step into that in-between space, one that recognizes a few realities required of a modern economy ready to compete on the global stage.

-- The point is to ensure all Americans have health insurance that is adequate and affordable. No one is guaranteed he or she will escape a medical crisis, so it's better to be prepared for the worst. The alternative results in huge hospital bills that send most people to bankruptcy.

-- Universal coverage is norm in every other Western-styled democracy. The dog-eat-dog health-care system that existed prior to passage of Obamacare put the United States at a competitive disadvantage. We can't go back there.

-- An effective U.S. health-care system must manage the rising costs of treatment. Here, Obamacare has worked, lowering health-care inflation to all-time lows. Any replacement or upgrade most do more on this front.

-- The policy should not be built solely on treatment of disease. Too many Americans are unhealthy. They eat too much, drink to excess, use tobacco and don't get enough exercise. An effective health-care reform will come with cost incentives that urge citizens to lead healthier lives and in the long run save money.

The truth is that Obamacare has put the country on a path to achieving these goals. However, it's a product of raw politics. That means the half-measures and compromises required to pass it resulted in a law that needs its rough edges smoothed.

Over the past six years, Republicans have generally told us what they oppose -- Obamacare -- but are mostly mute on what would replace it. The days where they could stay silent on solutions are at an end.

When it comes to health care, the nation needs a movement of people willing to demand our political system take us forward, and not backward.

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