Obama’s Biggest Challenge: Healthcare Reform
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With the return of Sen. Red Kennedy to the Hill today, we are reminded that healthcare reform will be not only a prominent issue, but also it could be the biggest challenge that President Obama will face. Here are some of the pitfalls, and possibilities for healthcare reform.
“I am very hopeful that this will be a prime item on the agenda. Barack has indicated that this will be a prime issue, and I believe that it will be. There are some major issues, obviously with the economy, and also environmental issues, but the president elect has indicated that this is going to be a priority and I certainly hope it will. We’ve got a good team. They have been working over the period of the late summer into the fall, and they’ve been doing a lot of good work, and I think we’ve got a good start on it,” Kennedy said.
The big news is that Sen. Kennedy said that Obama has stated that he wants to sign a healthcare reform bill by early next year. If this is the case, then Congress will need to have a bill ready by summer at the latest. The minefield of healthcare reform derailed the Clinton presidency early in his first term, so the question Obama faces is how can deliver on his promise of healthcare reform, while breaking the congressional gridlock on this issue.
The biggest change working in Obama’s favor is that the national attitude on healthcare since the Clinton administration. Americans are still greatly divided on how to improve the system, but almost everyone agrees that the system doesn’t work as well as it should. On the campaign trail, Obama made an interesting choice. Instead of advocating for a single payer universal system, he correctly, at least in my view, assessed the problem as being one of access not care.
The Obama plan doesn’t want to touch the system of medical care in our country. It wants to get more people into the system so that they can get care. The fact that Obama isn’t pitching government run healthcare, should melt away some of the conservative opposition. The issue of a mandate is going to be the stumbling block in any bill. Republicans are opposed to a mandate, and Democrats are divided on the issue. Obama opposes a mandate. However, I don’t see those who favor a mandate blocking a bill that doesn’t contain one. The problems will come if congressional Democrats try to ram through legislation that contains a mandate.
I still believe that we are going to see a series of smaller bills passed before we get to the big reform. Prescription drug costs, SCHIP expansion, and a bill allow consumers to buy their medications in Canada will all likely pass. I think that a healthcare reform bill could pass muster will Republicans and conservative Democrats if it sticks to the market model and offers some tax cuts. President Clinton’s healthcare reform failed because he overreached. Obama is an astute observer of history, so I doubt that he will repeat the mistakes of the 1990s.
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Technorati Tags: Barack Obama Healthcare Jason Easley U.S. Congress news politics healthcare reform bill president elect Ted Kennedy US Congress Bill Clinton Barack Obama
Comments
Health Care for America Now!
http://www.healthcareforamericanow.com/
HCAN is a coalition of 425 organizations in 42 states.
The HCAN principles are Obama's plan for health care reform. There are also many members of Congress (I believe I've been told some R's as well) that have already signed on the principles.
I'm sure that between the work of this great coalition, the members of Congress who have signed on and President-Elect Obama we will have health care reform.
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[...] Obama’s Biggest Challenge: Healthcare Reform If this is the case, then Congress will need to have a bill ready by summer at the latest. The minefield of healthcare reform derailed the Clinton presidency early in his first term, so the question Obama faces is how can deliver on his … [...]
Health care
I am amazed that more idustry is not supporting Universal Healthcare. Struggleing industries like the auto manufacturers and airlines should rejoice at the idea of eliminating the rising cost of offering health care to workers in exchange for a government sponsored system. Nearly every stike in the county is the result of wages and healthcare cost disputes so if we eliminated one of the two biggest sticking points then wouldn't this help to increase production and help the economy? We are now trying to save so many companies that I do not see why the government could not simply force health insurance providers to accept ALL who apply and then accept a government guarentee to protect the insurance providers if they lose money or force them to pay back into the system if they make too much profit.
IS IT THE END
IS IT THE END
SCANDAL!
The American people trust that Barack Obama will conscientiously address issues related to health care.
_______________
SCANDAL! SCANDAL! SCANDAL!
EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!
George W. Bush continuously criminally stalked Margie Schoedinger to the point that she could not get away from it, and she committed suicide in desperation to escape: he murdered her.
“In her suit, Margie Schoedinger states that George W. Bush committed sexual crimes against her, organized harassment and moral pressure on her, her family members and close relatives and friends. As Schoedinger said, she was strongly recommended to keep her mouth shut. . . . Furthermore, she alleges that George Bush ordered to show pressure on her to the point, when she commits suicide” (blog of drizzten).
“One of those ‘very leasts’ [was] George Bush’s personal complicity in the death (murder to be precise) of my friend Margie Schoedinger in September of 2003. Determining the exact whereabouts and contacts of [then] president-elect George Bush on September 21 thru 22, 2003, should be entirely lacking in difficulty” (Leola McConnell—Nevada Progressive Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010).
Leola McConnell is correct: Bush applying pressure (continuously criminally stalking Margie Schoedinger) purposefully to force Margie Schoedinger to commit suicide does in fact constitute murder.
BEWARE: If the president of the United States hates one—for whatever reasons—he can continuously criminally stalk one to the point that one cannot get away from it, and one ultimately commits suicide in desperation to escape. He can murder people in this way.
Bush is getting away with his murder of Margie Schoedinger—with no sheriff, prosecutor, or court willing to uphold the rule of law.
Bush’s method of murdering Margie Schoedinger cannot exist in a vacuum: he must have murdered other people in the same way.
Bush should confess, come out with the names of all of the people whom he murdered in the disgusting way he murdered Margie Schoedinger, undergo execution, and accordingly find himself at the intersection where he would be free.
(There are thousands of copies of the information above on the Internet. It exists very extensively in all major search engines. Please feel free to go to any major search engine, type “George W. Bush continuously criminally stalked Margie Schoedinger to the point that she could not get away from it, and she committed suicide in desperation to escape: he murdered her,” hit “Enter,” and find innumerable results.)
_______________
Andrew Wang
(a.k.a. “THE DISSEMINATING MACHINE”)
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993
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