Health care reform view from insurance side ...

Longtime Laredo insurance agent Henri D. Kahn said health care reform "no matter how you look at it, is a benefit to people in the United States" during a Tuesday noon Kiwanis Club meeting.
"It is a benefit more so for people who find themselves between Medicaid and Medicare," Kahn said in a speech at the Holiday Inn Civic Center.
Kahn, who has been in the insurance business for 40-plus years, is owner of Henri D. Kahn Insurance Services, located at 112 Del Court, Suite B.
He said health care reform is important "because it affects us all from birth to death."
Kahn also said any reform plan would not be for the poor. "They have Medicare, and Medicare has great benefits already," he said.
When asked what he thought about the quality of care here in the United States, Kahn said he thought it was a great system.
"There are so many different machines immediately available for patients who come into hospitals nowadays," he said. "Mexico's health care system is grossly inadequate."
Kahn questioned the Obama administration's claim that any health care reform plan will already be paid for when it starts.
"This will have to be paid for with an increase in taxes," he said.
Kahn said 177 million people in the U.S. have employer-paid insurance coverage.
"According to a study from the Urban Institute, which is a non-partisan organization, 91 percent of those already with health insurance will stay with their current coverage," he said
Kahn pointed out he makes sure his own company's employees are fully covered, making sure they would not have to worry should a health emergency occur.
"Employers should be concerned about the people who work for them first and care about them," he said.
Kahn knows about insurance and is willing to share his insights. It's good to hear from someone with his deep background speak out about these issues.

-- Joe Rutland