OPINION: Health-care mess is too big for Congress

Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho and Ron Wyden of Oregon have more common ground than most Republicans and Democrats, given the fact that they represent neighboring western states. Life in rural Idaho is not much different than Oregon — where some folks are trying to become part of Greater Idaho. 

But the senators are deeply divided when it comes to big-ticket matters such as the Inflation Reduction Act — one of the Biden administration’s hallmark pieces of legislation. The differences were on full display during a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Inflation Reduction Act’s health-care provisions. 

The opening statements submitted by Wyden (the committee chairman) and Crapo (the ranking member) also serve as an illustration of why health care in America will continue to be a mess. Wyden is married to the Democratic agenda, which also is the case with the party’s nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. Crapo, an avid supporter of former President Trump, is a good soldier for the Republican Party, and has been for decades. He isn’t about to sign on to an IRA, health-care plan or anything that has the Democratic Party’s stamp of approval. 

This is not to fault Crapo and Wyden. They have been in office for a long time and know how politics is played. If left to their own, without partisan politics getting in the way, Crapo and Wyden are the kind of guys who could come up with a bipartisan solution to health care. The senators are as congenial, thoughtful and intelligent as they come in the U.S. Senate. But their political parties are looking for one thing — a clear-cut victory over the other party. And that isn’t going to happen with the numbers so close in the Senate and House. 

So sit back and enjoy a bit of the partisan gridlock — courtesy of the Senate Finance Committee. 

Wyden said in his opening statement there are two choices. “One choice is to sign up for concepts of a plan by Donald Trump. The other choice in America is to sign up for concrete health care results delivered by Democrats through the IRA, which was passed into black-letter law two years ago.” 

So much for getting Republican support on the issue. For good measure, Wyden took a swipe or two at the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, JD Vance. 

Crapo, taking a more statesman-like approach (initially) said that health-care access and affordability are in everyone’s best interest. This committee has proven that bipartisan consent and deliberating policymaking can yield real solutions, from driving down prices at the pharmacy counter to ensuring patients can confidently select a mental health provider who fits their needs. Unfortunately, the IRA took the opposite approach, advancing top-down problematic program overhauls through a rushed, partisan process that sidelined the minority and ignored constructive input.” 

Those darn Democrats, anyway. The bill probably was put together in a smoke-filled room, with no Republicans allowed inside. 

As Wyden sees it, the IRA has taken on “price gouging” practices by Big Pharma, allowing seniors to save through out-of-pocket caps on prescription drugs while allowing working families to pay lower insurance premiums. 

“Taken as a whole, this new law is making a concrete difference in the lives of millions of working families and seniors in Medicare,” Wyden said. “These cost-saving measures need to be protected and strengthened in the years to come, not watered down or erased by putting Big Pharma or insurance companies back in charge.” 

Who could possibly be against all those good things? Your turn, Sen. Crapo. 

“Bureaucratic price fixing, under the guise of negotiation, may sound appealing, but it comes at a massive cost — particularly as firms begin to look elsewhere to launch new life-saving treatments. The implications for the therapeutic (research and development) pipeline are already apparent, with at least 21 drugs and 36 research programs discontinued since the law’s enactment. Even for approved drugs, delays and denials in care have started to skyrocket — and yet the Biden-Harris administration inexplicably excluded medications from its price authorization reforms.” 

Leave it to Democrats. They never tell the whole story. 

But Crapo (back to his statesman mode) offers a solution. “Instead of perpetuating a tax-and-spend agenda, we can and should work together to improve health-care choices, affordability and reliability.” 

Unfortunately, the “working together” part is the sticking point. 

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Silver Valley native Chuck Malloy is a longtime Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com.