It's the bottom of the ninth inning for the Obama health care plan
Filed under: Economy, Healthcare, Media
When future historians write about the Obama presidency, the question of how the once-obscure junior senator from Illinois handled the task of reforming the nation's health care system will be foremost on their minds as they judge his domestic policy achievements.
Democrats are eager to pass the signature issue of Obama's presidential campaign before the end of the year. But as members of Congress are battered by irate constituents worried about whether health care will be rationed, chances of the effort being derailed grow by the day. Obama is set to spell out his health care plans on Wednesday. This speech will be closely scrutinized for decades to come.
Obama has clearly been hurt by the contentious debate surrounding his health care reform proposal. Though he remains wildly popular -- especially compared to his predecessor -- his approval has slipped from 68 percent to 56 percent, according to a CBS News poll. His backers are urging him not to give into pressure to water-down his proposal.
In an editorial, the New York Times urged Obama to stay the course saying, "This is no time to yield on core elements of reform or on the scale of the effort in search of enough Republican support to provide the veneer of bipartisanship, or even the one or two Republican votes needed to overcome a filibuster."
Trying to reform the health care system is like searching for the proof of an unsolvable mathematical theorem. Some may argue that it's like trying to be the first to document life on other worlds. Theoretically, it's possible to solve these problems. But the journey is extraordinarily difficult, fraught with so much danger that many wonder whether it's even worth the trouble. Obama, though, had little choice.
Health care spending is expected to reach $2.5 trillion in 2009, equaling 17.6 percent of GDP, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. Costs are expected to soar to $4.4 trillion by 2018 -- more than double 2007 levels. There are an estimated 46 million people in the country without insurance.
These are scary numbers, and finding a compromise among members of Congress is proving to be elusive. That's especially true considering the raw emotion involved and the fear-mongering by opponents of Obama's initiative with the ludicrous talk of "death panels."
For now, Obama continues to push for the "public option" policy, though he appears willing to compromise. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told the press that the President's Wednesday speech will "draw some lines in the sand." Some of that may be chest thumping.
But according to Bloomberg News, there will be at least one more attempt to try and get some support from Republicans for health care reform.
"Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus is proposing legislation to enact President Barack Obama's top domestic priority that would cost less than $900 billion over 10 years and establish non-profit insurance cooperatives to extend coverage to the uninsured rather than create a government-run program, according to a person familiar with the plan," Bloomberg said.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-08-2009 @ 1:14PM
john said...
Take a REAL hard look at this before you sign off on it, Mr. President and Congressional Leaders!! You can not pay for it... You are going to cover 50 MILLION people who in NO WAY can contribute to the cost- which means WE(the taxpayers) get stuck with the tab... taken a look at the economy lately?? NOT a good time to keep raising the TAX flag- every single thing you pass something- WE have to pay for... all bailouts, all programs, all niceties... and YES- that is what this is- they ARE covered currently(walk in to any hospital and they CAN NOT say no...) so all you are doing is FORMALLY shifting the cost AT THE WORST TIME... and, by the way, NO ONE IS GUARANTEED HEALTH CARE or anything else like it in this country... it is EARNED, it is a privilege... and ONE MORE THING- if medicaid is to cover the POOR- then why not roll all of them into that and be done?? why so much, so new, so fast?? OH THAT IS RIGHT- YOU WANT GOVERNMENT TO BE THE BIGGEST IT CAN POSSIBLY BE... my mistake... silly ole' me thought Government was to supply things we could not supply ourselves- AND NOTHING MORE... DEMOCRACY, CAPITALISM, FREEDOM, INDEPENDENCE, ETC... there are a lot of monuments around your town that MEAN something... go visit, go read, go remember, go listen to your true constituents... then go back and VOTE NO TO THIS INSANITY... it is meaningless, it is overkill, it is an irreversable slippery slope that we can not recover from...
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9-08-2009 @ 3:28PM
akrsnp said...
Guys like John had no problem with the money we wasted removing Iran's only enemy, Iraq, which cost more money then the health care plan will. I would happily and easily pay $2,000 a month for medical insurance, but a bunch of mentally deranged right wing extremists, like John, keep telling lies about the health care plan and scaring people, so I probably won't be able to, because I have a preexisting condition.
9-08-2009 @ 1:35PM
Chuck said...
Attention all taxpayers; watch for a "bait & switch" speech by Obama and the Dems on Healthcare tomorrow. They intend to shove this down our throats one way or the other.
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9-08-2009 @ 1:38PM
Rob said...
very well stated John. Look at the minorities; they're thriving, especially the illegals. They don't have health insurance but as soon as they feel sick, they run to the nearest hospital emergency room and they get taken care of.
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9-08-2009 @ 3:04PM
George Baillie said...
Would we give up our social security or even medicare today if we had a choice? Both programs run by the government. Would we rather keep the health care system of our nation be kept in the hands of private insurance companies whose sole mission is to make a profit. Just look at how our private health care costs have risen over the last 5 years ( average 8% / year) and tell me again who is going to be able to afford private health care in 10 years.
Why is it we are able to pay taxes to cover a war in Iraq but not willing to look after our own health care system for American citizen. What part of this equation do we not understand? Instead of criticizing other countries who have health care for all, we should look at our own record against the developed countries of the world and ask how can we accept this present health care system.
We pay the most but cover the least. Thank goodness the rest of the developed world does not follow our example.
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9-08-2009 @ 3:50PM
azjohnny said...
another speech from our blatherer in chief - - ye gods this t--d is boring. as a professional agitator speeches and vacations are what he's all about
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9-08-2009 @ 4:55PM
JD said...
Truth is we cannot afford the health care system we have. It has doubled in cost in 12 years time and is predicted to double again over the next decade. Speaking of double, we pay double for our 37th ranked in qualiity of care (World Heath Org.) heath care (50th in infant mortality) and the Price Waterhouse study on our $2.2 trillion dollar system points out that $1.2 trillion is wasted on HMO red tape, over testing, and 300%-600% overcharges for prescription drugs, anesthesiology, hospital bed space, emergency room care, insurance company profit taking, and treating the 47 million who have no insurance. The scumbags who are leading this anti health care shout down in town hall meetings are all funded by the health care insurance providers and big pharma. I suggest, since a great deal of this uprorar is nothing more than Obama haters, that you google the compensation packages for the CEO's of Pfizer, Novartis, Eli Lily, Schering-Plough, Merck, Untied Health Care, Horizon Well Care, Aetna, Oxford, and I think you may find out where a boatload of the $1.2 trillion of misspent, wasted health care money goes! Instead of screaming about what we cannot pay for, and how great everything is if we just leave it alone. Follow the money - look at exactly who is benefitting from our present health care system, and who is cashing in on it big time. Hate Obama all you want, I don't care. But by not comprehending who is leading this mass hysteria you are also being a part of the problem and not the solution. I'd rather hear ideas from republicans, not more bulldropings. This is a situation where huge changes must be made. We cannot leave things as they are. The cost of doing nothing is far greater than the entire heath care reform package as is. Does it need tweeking, probably. Do we need more input, surely! Can we leave it alone and hope it gets better on its own. No we absolutely cannot! Google the CEO's and chew on their compensation a while. Google the same companies corporate profits and choke on those. The think about paying double again for what is already twice as expensive as it should be. Hate Obama after we fix this foolish mess!
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9-08-2009 @ 6:17PM
Campbell said...
It almost sounds as familiar what Lyndon Johnson did back in the late sixties to social security. The problem with this so-called government health care bill is that its not about helping people. There is a general consensus with the majority of Americans to keep the process out of the hands of the federal government. The government is incapable of creating competition for one and promoting individual responsibility. You have all these liberal special interest groups with all this stimulus cash with no way to pay it back. The answer? Push for a totalitarian government controlled health care system, raise taxes and ration care.
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9-08-2009 @ 7:08PM
maria said...
I think a health care refomr is necessary I just hope they don't come up with something similar to this http://www.typobounty.com/Funny/Health_Care_Reform3.htm, which it being a government backed program is likely to happen
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9-08-2009 @ 7:52PM
David S. said...
I think we need a few basic changes to make healthcare more affordable for all of us. 1) eliminate the privledge to not get care if you have a "Preexsisting condition, 2) Health insurance companies should NOT be able to raise costs drastically in order to get liabilities off thier books if a person has been on thier roles, but recently gotten sick. 3) cut down on frivolous Medical MalPractice lawsuits for other than Patient neglect, or gross incompentence, or sexual misconduct, or permant injuries to the patient, or to cover "HandiCapped Services". That's My Personal Opinion. Speaking FOR MYSELF.
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9-08-2009 @ 9:30PM
cabo79 said...
The only way to end this BS is to go to term limits. You cannot have a Free Society without rules, laws, a police force to catch the bad guys and prisons to put them in. The same goes for a Free Market capitalist society, you have to have rules, regulations, a police force and prisons to put the bad guys in. Our government is not maintaining a Free Market. Too many political contributions (pay-offs), it is obvious laws are bought and sold. Folks we need to correct this, it happens over and over. Our government is paralyzed by the need for pay-offs (political contributions). We need a major change to end this professional politician form of government. We need TERM LIMITS and real campaign finance reform. How about three 4 year terms for Congressmen, two 6 year terms for Senators and keep the current limit of two 4 year terms for President. The most anyone may serve in the Congress and Senate combined would be 14 years. We need an end to the professional politician form of government.
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9-08-2009 @ 9:31PM
cabo79 said...
Mass, tried universal health insurance, most middle income peoples that could use it just couldn't afford it. At this point the costs of health care in this country have gotten plain ridicules, it cost $15,000 to have a baby in a hospital with a normal delivery and a two day stay. What a joke. The main reason for this situation is laws passed by your governments both State and Federal that infuse large amounts of money into the system and give near monopoly status to hospitals and drug companies. Ever wonder why there are lots of abortion clinics and no birthing clinics? Anyway I see the system crashing under its own weight in the next ten years. Only hope is to start a parallel system run by the government much like education. Private care and public care. The public system would compete with the private system and help bring down the costs of the private system. The thinking behind everyone paying for public schools even if you are wealthy and send your kids to a private school is that everyone benefits from a well educated population. The same goes for health care, we all benefit from a healthy work force. The current VA hospital system could be a nucleus for the start of the public system.
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9-10-2009 @ 7:08PM
Bill said...
Oh my god!!! John, you aren't serious are you ???
Health care is EARNED, it is a privilege????
Have you read the number of people who have lost their jobs? What about those who become ill and can't work?
Please tell me you didn't mean to imply that Health Care is only for those who have the money to pay for it....and if you are poor you don't deserve it!!??
Who do you think pays for those who " (walk in to any hospital and they CAN NOT say no...)"?
THOSE WHO HAVE INSURANCE!!!! That's why the premiums are so high!!! You really don't think the insurance company pays for them from their profits, do you??
I'm really glad the monuments in your town mean more to you than the people in your town. I'm sure the men and women who died for those monuments didn't feel the way you do!! Otherwise they wouldn't have done what they did!!
The only thing insane is to vote NO on reform. THAT is the " slippery slope that we can not recover from... "
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9-09-2009 @ 5:38PM
Paul said...
Something has to be done with Hospital charges, I spent 3.5 days in the hospital, it cost $21,000 a day for board and room, doctor bills and other bills related to my care were paid and did not include the hospital room, we do need a change in Healthcare, don't fool yourself, the government is the largest healthcare provider and they have the best healthcare system, just ask a congressman or senator what their plan is! bet they will avoid the topic, I often wonder who is scaring the Seniors?, Medicare will always be there regardless of any Healthcare change period
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9-09-2009 @ 5:46PM
Paul said...
The crazy thing is to do nothing John, some of us are lucky to have good Healthcare, what do we do with those who can not the cost of healthcare?, the government pays for my healthcare, all federal employees have government healthcare plans, so do state, country, city governments, who do you think pays for that?, why do we just wait and see what the President and Congress comes up with, all the scare tactics about healthcare are quiet funny, we need change, as for me, I hope you can get the same advantage in Healthcare as I do, that would be fair.......
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