Legal Commentary

What Now On Health Care Reform?

By Big Tent Democrat

I have never proclaimed to know much about health care and I think I have backed up that position by not writing much about it. That said, I have come to see the public option/individual mandates/taxing the wealthy to pay for it ideas as not a bad start to build on. But all of this seems in jeopardy now and there is a growing debate as to whether what is on the table now is actually counterproductive to achieving lasting and meaningful health care reform. Kevin Drum writes:

Scott Lemieux isn't happy with the compromise healthcare bill being put together in the Senate [--] "The normal justification for passing a compromise bill is that once a new system is entrenched it can be tweaked later. But I don't think it applies in this case. The public option is the core of the reform; a Blue Dog bill isn't so much half a loaf as a few meaningless crumbs. . . ."

. . . Ezra Klein disagrees [--] "What has kept health-care reform at the forefront of liberal politics for decades is moral outrage that 47 million of our friends and neighbors are uninsured. That medical costs are one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the United States. . . ."

Kevin himself stresses community rating. Lambert thinks the entire thing is a sham and that only single payer makes sense. So what do I think now? I'll tell you on the flip.

I am still persuaded that a robust public option, individual mandates and taxing the wealthy to cover costs would constitute real health care reform that would lead to even better reform. I am not at all convinced that anything short of this is worth doing.

And we seem to be in great danger of doing much less than this. President Obama's team is quick to capitulate (already they are saying yes to "co-ops" over the public option.) They simply seem to be inept at negotiation with Congress.

Atrios says ". . . unless progressives make it clear that they're willing to torpedo a sh*t bill a sh*t bill is what we will get." Obama's team has signalled they won't torpedo a sh*t bill. So who will torpedo it? Certainly Nancy Pelosi, despite her bluster, won't. She'll do whatever Obama tells her to do.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 29, 2009 (boomark / email).