Last March we wrote a newsletter outlining 6 things we felt President Obama would need to master in order to move our country toward real health care reform. Back then he was positioned pretty well. He’s gone downhill since then.
We closed the March newsletter with the comment, “He’ll need to execute flawlessly with his team to make it happen, and he’ll need to maintain the public support to come up with a plan that balances our individual freedoms with the social responsibility that is expected in our country today.” He hasn’t delivered on this one.
It’s obvious that Obama’s health care discussion is in shambles. We’ve read the House Bill and can’t agree with it (you can see our summary by clicking here). It was too expensive, complex, and confusing in our view (especially regarding the Public Option). There was a logic behind it that made some sense and there were some ideas included that are worthwhile to explore further in the context of what is needed to fix some of the structural problems existing in the system today.
When we reviewed the language we based our interpretations on our views of the challenges facing our system from our years of working in it. We did not interpret “Death Review Committees” the same as “Comparative Effectiveness Research”. We did not interpret “Encouraging Euthanasia” the same as “Advance Care Planning”. But, it’s obvious that these other interpretations and messages have hit home (despite whether they reflect the intent) and HR 3200 is not the direction the country wants to go).
We’re in the process of reviewing the “most visible” Senate bill (Kennedy Bill) so we’ll post our summary on it when we’re finished.
So, what’s the strategy going to be?
In absence of some Divine Intervention to consolidate whatever comes out of the Senate with the House bill that meets the needs of everyone, we’re going to need to (as much as I hate saying it)- slow down. Politics and the loss of public support have won this round. Ramming through a health care reform package that is not at least perceived as somewhat bi-partisan and is not supported by the American people would be political suicide for those doing or supporting the ramming. We’re certain that taking this kind of action in the hostile environment we have will also minimize the chances of success. We need to succeed on this for our country- the right way.
We need to step back, take a breath, take a look at what we have, and determine where we go from here. While deadlines are good, they shouldn’t be met at the sacrifice of achieving the overall goal. But, we also shouldn’t put this on the back-burner again. The health of our economy is going to depend on this.
The Democratic Party is now in “defense mode” and the Republicans have a wonderful opportunity to present other options. But, I honestly haven’t heard what the Republican solution would be. I’ve heard a lot of talk of MSA’s, tax credits, more competition, free market, etc. being thrown around as components- but these ideas are not going to correct the structural changes that currently exist in the system we have today. If someone has the Republican “plan” out there it needs to be more visible.
It’s already ugly and, unfortunately, will probably get uglier before we’re all done unless something changes. As we had hoped would occur from the beginning, both sides need to reach across the aisle to develop a solution that respects the principles maintained by the other and produces the result that is right for the American people for now and for the future.
We closed the March newsletter with the comment, “He’ll need to execute flawlessly with his team to make it happen, and he’ll need to maintain the public support to come up with a plan that balances our individual freedoms with the social responsibility that is expected in our country today.” He hasn’t delivered on this one.
It’s obvious that Obama’s health care discussion is in shambles. We’ve read the House Bill and can’t agree with it (you can see our summary by clicking here). It was too expensive, complex, and confusing in our view (especially regarding the Public Option). There was a logic behind it that made some sense and there were some ideas included that are worthwhile to explore further in the context of what is needed to fix some of the structural problems existing in the system today.
When we reviewed the language we based our interpretations on our views of the challenges facing our system from our years of working in it. We did not interpret “Death Review Committees” the same as “Comparative Effectiveness Research”. We did not interpret “Encouraging Euthanasia” the same as “Advance Care Planning”. But, it’s obvious that these other interpretations and messages have hit home (despite whether they reflect the intent) and HR 3200 is not the direction the country wants to go).
We’re in the process of reviewing the “most visible” Senate bill (Kennedy Bill) so we’ll post our summary on it when we’re finished.
So, what’s the strategy going to be?
In absence of some Divine Intervention to consolidate whatever comes out of the Senate with the House bill that meets the needs of everyone, we’re going to need to (as much as I hate saying it)- slow down. Politics and the loss of public support have won this round. Ramming through a health care reform package that is not at least perceived as somewhat bi-partisan and is not supported by the American people would be political suicide for those doing or supporting the ramming. We’re certain that taking this kind of action in the hostile environment we have will also minimize the chances of success. We need to succeed on this for our country- the right way.
We need to step back, take a breath, take a look at what we have, and determine where we go from here. While deadlines are good, they shouldn’t be met at the sacrifice of achieving the overall goal. But, we also shouldn’t put this on the back-burner again. The health of our economy is going to depend on this.
The Democratic Party is now in “defense mode” and the Republicans have a wonderful opportunity to present other options. But, I honestly haven’t heard what the Republican solution would be. I’ve heard a lot of talk of MSA’s, tax credits, more competition, free market, etc. being thrown around as components- but these ideas are not going to correct the structural changes that currently exist in the system we have today. If someone has the Republican “plan” out there it needs to be more visible.
It’s already ugly and, unfortunately, will probably get uglier before we’re all done unless something changes. As we had hoped would occur from the beginning, both sides need to reach across the aisle to develop a solution that respects the principles maintained by the other and produces the result that is right for the American people for now and for the future.
We’ll say it again, “He’ll need to execute flawlessly with his team to make it happen, and he’ll need to maintain the public support to come up with a plan that balances our individual freedoms with the social responsibility that is expected in our country today."
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