As a candidate, President Obama had a relatively well thought out, comprehensive healthcare plan. It had a private option, it had a NATIONAL health care exchange, it had tax credits, it maintained employer and employee choice, and it used the FEHBP as a model (like John Kerry proposed). Here is a copy of his campaign healthcare plan to look at. It is only 9 pages and is an easy read, particularly that we are now a lot more well versed in the issues than we were during the campaign. Notice, too how he takes on drug issues with the plan and allows importation of drugs, easier access for generics to be marketed, and says Medicare should negotiate for drug prices.
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdfI would submit that NOTHING I have heard or read about coming out of the Congress at this time is superior to this plan- (with the exception of single payer, which is NOT going to happen, but which the Obama plan already allowed the states to continue developing in his plan).
My personal belief is that President Obama should have just stuck with this plan he campaigned on and probably didn't for a couple of reasons:
#1 - Modesty. I have come to believe that Pres Obama sees himself as a consensus type of leader and not the "Deciderer" type of leader that Bush professed to be. I think he wanted Congress to arrive at most of the same conclusions he did as a candidate but in an organic fashion coming out of internal debates and discussions. One problem with this approach is that Congress is serving many masters and the public is at the bottom of the list - we have seen this borne out as reform gets continually gutted and diluted by the Senate Finance Committee and others who are just trying to save as much of the pie for their corporate donors as is humanly possible. I think he gave them too much credit that they would DO the RIGHT THING. (Note to self - NEVER rely on the Congress to DO THE RIGHT THING - they have proven over and over that they are incapable of acting on any issue based just on the raw ethos of the point in question. Self interests trump public interest almost every time)
#2 - Modesty. I think that President Obama did NOT want health reform to be seen as the Obama Plan, seeing himself as a possible lightening rod for those who disapprove of him period and might reject a fine plan just because it has his stamp on it.
#3 - Modesty. I think President Obama would have been delighted to see healthcare come out with a Kennedy profile on it as the last and most enduring legacy of someone he greatly admires and who has been a friend and mentor to him. Unfortunately, Kennedy's illness has precluded him from taking a more prominent position in these debates and healthcare reform will not be Kennedy's legacy.
#4 - Modesty. He did not not make himself the poster person and use the bully pulpit until fairly late into the game and not to best advantage, since he is promoting something that does not actually exist and still does not. We are still sadly promoting the IDEA of reform, a stage we should have long passed and which we did pass in the public mind with the ELECTION!
In closing, I would posit that we would be a lot further along with a better plan and a better chance of long term success IF:
President Obama had IMMODESTLY promoted his own healthcare plan from the beginning.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
