This is it – President Obama’s speech tonight will be the single most important health reform event this year. Here are the key things to watch for.
The reactions of Sens Grassley, Enzi, and Snowe are more important than the content. More important, even, than any Presidential pronouncements about public options and tort reform. Without bipartisan support, however thin, nothing gets done, and these are the three keys to that elusive bipartisan stamp.
Cost control – to date the Dems in the House have passed several bills out of Committee greatly expanding coverage at huge cost. Health reform without cost control is not possible nor should it be. The President must address cost, and do so directly.
Lines in the sand – I don’t expect there will be any, especially any referring to a public plan option from day one. But there will be ‘requirements’ for coverage, perhaps timeframes, and possibly a trigger for implementing a public option if specific criteria aren’t met by the private insurance market. How tight these are will go a long way to revealing how far the President will go to get reform passed.
Tort reform – the President’s treatment of this topic will be highly instructive. If he signals a willingness to include tort reform in a health reform bill, that will show a) he’s open to make big concessions to get reform done; and b) opponents that the stakes are raised. Getting tort reform done is a high priority for many in the industry, and they will likely be willing to compromise on other points if they get what they perceive to be meaningful reform.
What to ignore
The slamming by opponents and hyperbowling (a term used to describe advocates hurling positive adjectives at any microphone) immediately after the speech. Turn off the coverage and get back to your fantasy football picks – it will be more productive and less stressful.
Sep
9
What I will be thinking during tonights speech:
1. Where in the Constitution (for you “Progressives” that’s the old piece of paper in the National Archives that started our nation) does it say the country can start an insurance company?
2. Where do these Congressman think they are going to get the money to pay for starting an insurance program? If they learn the lessons from TennCare (the failed Tennessee Medicaid program forced on the people of Tennessee during the Clinton years) they will know they need to establish pools by which to pay claims (a little fact missed under TN Care).
3. Does anyone really expect the Legal Community to sit on it’s hindside and let tort reform go into place? Considering that nearly 90% of the Congress ARE LAWYERS – highly doubtful!
4. Are there really Republicans’ out there who consider Sen’s Grassley, Enzi and Snowe to be REPUBLICANS?? Really??? Yet these RINO’s will be the Progressives “excuse” for saying that whatever bill that comes forth as being “BiPartisan”. What a joke!
Over the long weekend I sat down and watched the entire John Adams HBO Series for some “perspective” on this debate. Here’s what that viewing makes me think…
Whatever Obama comes forward with tonight, whatever “suggestions” he offers, whatever changes he is willing to make to get this passed I’m sure have been well discussed behind the closed doors of “Progressives” for years before he ever came to office. We should not fool ourselves by thinking all this is the handiwork of one President, but the collaboration of many. I can only pray that their intentions for our nation are as good as our forefathers were,and that the cost of their plans will leave opportunity for future generations and not burdens for them to bear because of our foolishness.
Yes, Joe, we need some kind of reform – please make it small and manageable.
Our country is still deep in recession – look at the jobless figures. Health care is the 2nd largest industry in the US. Without reform action, health care will remain stalled and until it gets moving, the economy is not going to heat up.
President Obama and Congress need to act – just make it minor and managable. No heroics!
I heard NOTHING from the president about controlling healthcare costs.
I am deeply disturbed that the President continues to lie to our faces, invoking his famous line about “if you like your employers coverage, you can keep it”. He might as well say “read my lips—no new taxes.”
It’s time for him to stop lying to us. It’s pathetic.