Making Sense of Health Care Reform

On July 7, I published a blog entry in this space that recommended we look to Max Baucus' Senate Finance Committee as the place where a successful compromise health care reform bill might emerge. I further said that the idea of a cooperative might be substituted for an outright public option in the bill. It looks like we may well be moving in that direction at this point. What, however, has been going on in the interim? How has the August recess impacted this debate?

As predicted, the forces arrayed against health care reform have raised their collective heads with a vengeance. This summer the major debate has been whether or not the ruckus at town hall debates has been genuine or orchestrated. Of course, the answer is it has been both. Organizations tied to interested corporations have opposed health care reform and urged individuals so inclined to protest at town hall meetings. Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC show has clearly delineated many of the players in this effort. Individuals who are strongly opposed to every possible kind of government involvement have accepted the challenge to appear at these town hall meetings and create as much mischief as possible. It should be emphasized that this group of individuals while sincere constitute a very small proportion of the population. The real success for these opponents of health care, however, have been their ability to put doubts in the minds of more main stream Americans who just aren't sure any longer about the current health care proposals. Some have been influenced by the many myths that have sprung up. Even if they don't believe that 'death panels' will pull the plug on grandma, they wonder if maybe there are some provisions that might not be so good.

Where do we go from here? Are we to be outraged at the tactics of the opposition and draw lines in the sand as to what we expect in health care reform? A number of liberals are taking exactly that tack. Sixty democratic congressmen have written to the president that they will not support a bill without a public option. Is this a noble stand on principle or a potential end to health care reform for years to come? Liberals insist that it is the failure of the Obama administration to stand firm that has brought us to this point. Some, including those in the news media, fault the president for not submitting his own bill to congress, yet the truth is that congress never approves anything until they put their own stamp on the legislation.

The major problem now is the lack of agreement among Democrats on this issue. Democrats representing conservative districts and those representing more progressive districts view the issue differently. The differences are real and need to be respected on all sides. A fight among Democrats can only result in Health Care Reform crashing down around them. Are Democrats prepared to allow that to happen in order to be faithful to some principle?

The missing element in all of this is the unprecedented level of agreement that already exists among most parties. The compromise bill that can fairly easily be crafted if only there is a decision to do so, is several giant steps better than what we have now. The focus on preventive medicine, the establishment of exchanges, the changes in insurance regulations to enhance consumer protections, if not the ultimate is at least the beginning of a major overhaul in the way health care operates in this country.

It is also true that such a compromise is preferable at this time to a one-sided bill. While I may favor a single payer system it would not be right for our country. In fact the protests at town hall meetings has been a good thing for the health care debate. It should remind all of us that we are not a monolithic country, and that even minorities need to be heard. It reminds us that fashioning a compromise is more American than the alternative. No, we can not please everybody, nor is that the goal. However, we need to craft a bill that reflects the genuine sentiments of all corners of the country. The bill will not be perfect, and it certainly can be improved upon in future years as consensus for changes surface, but it meets the needs of our country at this time and it is the way to go.

If there ever was a time for people to stop yelling at each other and pursuing the art of the possible, now is that time. We do not want a repeat of the 1990's. We want a bold but thoughtful step forward. That is very doable. Let's get it done.