Unsustainable

The debate over America’s healthcare system has been focused on the 47 million people who lack insurance, and on the various proposals designed to shrink that number.

Trouble is, the number almost certainly will grow, at least initially, regardless of whether the foes or the fans of a government insurance option prevail in this political tussle.

Which is why Americans, including the majority who have health insurance, should demand that the lawmakers, most of them Republican, who are spearheading the opposition to “Obamacare” do something more than try to defeat it.

The government, and specifically Congress, has an obligation to act, even if the legislation doesn’t include the new, taxpayer-supplied insurance plans that Obama touts.

Here’s why: Insurance rates are rising so rapidly that many people who now have insurance, as well as employers who pay a portion of their workers’ premiums, soon won’t be able to afford the tab.

In Oregon, the state insurance division recently approved premium increases ranging from 10 percent to 23 percent for businesses that employ 50 or fewer people.

That’s not a sustainable situation.

Congress and the president must meet with officials from insurance companies and drug makers and negotiate ways to curb costs.

If they fail, then the polls which now show that most Americans are satisfied with their health insurance will tell a dramatically different tale.