Submitted by Illinoisnoki1 on Sat, 09/12/2009 - 21:57

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In his speech before Congress Wednesday night, President Obama did accomplish some positive things that will improve his political standing and shore up his political base, which had been eroding recently due to weakness in the face of attacks. But he and his party still face a serious, perhaps, insurmountable dilemma.

First, the President showed some mettle and integrity in calling out the insurance companies as culprits in our national health care drama. Over the past few months, the nefarious role played by the health insurance companies’ relentless pursuit of profits was obscured by the bland language coming out of the White House and Congress. This has played into the right’s hands beautifully, allowing them to focus the debate on Obama’s intentions, demonizing his every word.

In his speech, the President repositioned the debate as a search for solutions to the real human suffering caused by the practices of the selfish insurance companies, practices he named such as recision, abrupt denial of claims, refusal to cover people who have a health history, inflated premiums, etc. The President needs to intensify that approach because for most people that is the main reason for favoring reform.

Obama also criticized the liars and smear job artists in the public forum of national television. Felt Good! He reassured his supporters that he will stand behind the health care program that he is advocating and those who support it--something he has failed to do for some of his Progressive appointees such as Van Jones and Yosi Sergant.

In his most reassuring tones, The President explained how average people with and without “coverage” will benefit from his reform package. Not only will the worse insurance company abuses be held in check, but the 187 Americans who are still “happy” with their current ‘coverage” need not worry a bit; for them nothing will change.

Unfortunately, he stressed in detail the need for mandates, e.g. forcing people and businesses to buy health insurance. Problem. If the insurance companies are the culprits, why does Mr. Nice Guy President want to force us to buy their products? This argument or some variation ricochets continuously among left and right wing activists, and it won’t go away.

The President went a country mile to explain that his proposals won’t add to the deficit. And here’s where things begin to crumble. One of the main new costs will be subsidies to help low and moderate income people pay for the “coverage” that private insurance companies would be required to provide everyone--even those pesky sick people.

No matter how you spin it, it sounds like the evil doers will get a pipeline to our public treasury; hundreds of billions of new dollars that will enable them buy even more Congress people who will then gratefully eliminate the very regulations the President is now calling for.

And where will that new money come from? Apparently, it will be generated by a new tax on high incomes and big efficiencies in Medicare. Oops! Mistake. Mr. President, please do not talk about health care reform and Medicare efficiencies in the same speech. It echoes the words of George Bush. Besides, Medicare is already many times more efficient than private insurance.

Moreover, the idea of paying subsidies out of Medicare savings plays into the hands of the right wing. They are scaring the hell out of seniors by telling them that an evil President will cut their Medicare benefits in order to provide better “coverage” to the uninsured (read undeserving). Hence, the contradictory cry, “Keep the government out of my Medicare!

Finally, the President defied and then confirmed expectations on the left by first appearing to stick by his Public Option (PO) idea and then saying it isn’t essential to the overall health care reform. Well of course it’s not essential, it’s been shrunk down to insignificance. The current PO proposal anticipates maybe 10 million or so participants, a small fraction of the Public Option of several years earlier when proponents boasted about possibly covering 130 million Americans. The idea was that with so many people in it, the PO would dominate the market and force insurance companies to keep premiums low.

But the current miniaturized PO is far too small to have any effect on a private medical insurance market that probably tops 200 million. Really, the incredible shrinking PO seems mainly designed to lull liberal Democrats into thinking that because they are the majority party, they rule. Dream on.

What’s more, the original PO program proposed barring any public money from flowing to private insurance companies. In other words the subsidies were intended only to help people buy a public policy. That prohibition has been eliminated in the current Congressional legislation, HR 3200. It allows floods of federal cash to flow into private corporate coffers, kinda like the, uh, bank bailout.
Despite the skill of his oratory, the President and the Democratic party cannot talk their way of the big dilemma facing them. They are stuck trying to sell a complex, convoluted new program with dozens of moving parts, new bureaucracies, contradictions and obvious defects, to a rightfully skeptical public--most of whom probably still don’t understand what the PO is or how it would effect their current situation.

In a country that already has a complex array of government health care bureaucracies—Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, Veterans, Military, centrist Democrats propose adding another, one that doesn’t even start until 2013. Good luck campaigning on that in 2012!
Wouldn’t it be better for the Democrats and The President to just stop trying to sell the country on an overly complicated plan that rewards the evil doers? How would it be if instead of the speech he made Wednesday night, the President had told the nation something like,

“In 2010, we’ll let everyone 50 to 64 who wants to, go into Medicare. Medicare, a uniquely American program that is successful, popular, understandable and is already serving 45 million Americans in a cost effective manner. And in 2011 we’ll let everyone 40 to 54 who wants to, go into Medicare.”

Then in 2012, the President could say to the nation, “I’ve helped tens of millions of American receive guaranteed high quality health care and saved money too. Elect me for another term, and I’ll finish the job.” Just a thought.

Bill Bianchi
Progressive Democrats of America-Illinois