Nov. 20 Daily News editorial

Senate leaders are moving toward a final vote on a costly health-care reform bill that would do little to contain medical costs and leave millions of Americans without health insurance. It’s been especially frustrating to witness this rush to approve what appears to be a seriously flawed plan, knowing that legislation far more worthy of the “reform” label has been effectively shoved aside by congressional leaders.

We refer to the Healthy Americans Act, first introduced in 2007 by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Robert Bennett, R-Utah. The legislation is still on the table, largely ignored by Senate leaders. Similar legislation, pushed by Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., received the same treatment in the House.

It’s hard to know exactly why congressional leaders and the Obama administration have refused to embrace the Wyden-Bennett plan or even incorporate elements of it in their plan. Bennett has speculated that neither he nor Wyden were senior enough to get the bill the look it deserves. If so, more senior senators did themselves and the country no favor. The Healthy Americans Act could attract support from both sides of aisle and would accomplish more than either the House-approved bill or the proposed Senate bill at far less cost.

Unlike the Senate bill, which leaves an estimated 16 million Americans without health insurance, the Wyden-Bennett bill would provide private health-care coverage for all Americans. It would guarantee health benefits equal to those enjoyed by members of Congress. It would enable citizens to choose their health insurance provider, rather than leave that choice up to an employer. The coverage would be portable from job to job and continue even between jobs.

Cost, alone, should lead congressional leaders to back the Wyden-Bennett plan. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation have evaluated the plan and both concluded that it would be revenue neutral within two years of becoming fully operational and eventually generate budget surpluses.

A review of the Healthy Americans Act by the Lewin Group, a Virginia-based health-care consulting group, found that it could reduce the current health-care costs of private employers by nearly three-quarters. The Lewin Group also calculated that the plan would save $1.48 trillion in total national health-care spending over the next 10 years. By comparison, the Senate bill would cost an estimated $849 billion over the next 10 years.

The Wyden-Bennett plan’s lower cost can be attributed to the choice it allows individual consumers. Citizens would shop in a large pool of insurers for the health coverage that is right for them. Insurers would have to compete for clients, which means lower insurance costs. The plan also would provide incentives for individuals and insurers to focus on preventive care.

The Healthy Americans Act is a sensible, market-based reform that would go a long way toward fixing what ails the nation’s current health-care system. It may be too late to hope for an eleventh-hour attack of common sense on Capitol Hill. But, given the health-care legislation that is advancing, we’re pretty sure this won’t be the last time Congress is forced to take on this challenge.