Universal Health Care - How We Got There and Where We Are

In the September 21, 2007 issue of the New York Times there was an interesting article by op-ed columnist Paul Krugman titled Health Care Hopes. The New York Times and Paul Krugman may be unbiased in their regard to political parties (wouldn’t that be novel) but whether they are or not the article rings true and gives us an idea of how universal health care became such an important issue in this campaign and where each party stands on the issue.

The following (long) excerpt from Paul’s article describes how we got to this point. Click here to read the entire article.

“To see how much things have changed, consider Hillary Clinton’s evolution. Just 15 months ago, The New York Times reported that “her plans to expand coverage are tempered and incremental,” and that “she continues to shy from the ultimate challenge: describing what a comprehensive Democratic health care plan would look like.” Indeed, when she was asked how costs might be controlled, she demurred: “It depends on what kind of system you’re devising. And that’s still not at all clear to me, what the body politic will bear.

But that was then.

John Edwards broke the issue of health care reform open in February, when he proposed a smart and serious plan for universal health insurance — and bravely announced his willingness to pay for the plan by letting some of the Bush tax cuts expire. Suddenly, universal health care went from being a distant progressive dream to something you could actually envision happening in the next administration.”

I’ve said all along that it would take someone who had the strength of character to get universal health care moving in this country and John Edwards appears to have what it takes. I’m not suggesting that he’s my choice for president but he certainly has the attributes I believe our next president must have.

We’ve all heard of the polls that politicians take before they take a stand on any issue. Whether we agree with Bush or not I doubt he spends much time agonizing over the polls. Reagan wasn’t all that interested in polls. I’m not so sure with Hillary. Fifteen years ago she was willing to step up and offer a universal plan but she got burned. Now she’s running for office. I’m concerned when a politician believes in an issue but is afraid to step up when they have the opportunity.

A man I respect very much said that he agreed with a lot of what Hillary is talking about but he’s afraid she’s become too much a part of the system, too unwilling to take a chance. I’m not sure who she is but at least she got on the wagon when John Edwards didn’t get his head handed to him on a plate.

What does Paul Krugman have to say about the Republican’s plans for health care? Read the following.

“There won’t be a serious Republican alternative. The health care plans of the leading Republican candidates, such as they are, are the same old, same old: they principally rely on tax breaks that go mainly to the well-off, but will supposedly conjure up the magic of the market. As Ezra Klein of The American Prospect cruelly but accurately puts it: “The Republican vision is for a world in which the sick and dying get to deduct some of the cost of health insurance that they don’t have — and can’t get — on their taxes.”

But the G.O.P. nominee, whoever he is, won’t be trying to persuade the public of the merits of his own plan. Instead, he’ll try to scare the dwindling fraction of Americans who still have good health insurance by claiming that the Democrats will take it away.

The smear-and-fear campaign has already started. The Democratic plans all bear a strong resemblance to the health care plan that Mitt Romney signed into law as governor of Massachusetts, differing mainly in offering Americans additional choices. But that didn’t stop Mr. Romney from denouncing the Clinton plan as “European-style socialized medicine.” And Fred Thompson claims that the Clinton plan denies choice — which it actually offers in abundance — and relies on “punishment” instead.”

I hate the use of fear but in these days of sound bytes it’s become popular or is it easy. I'd rather a politician who isn't afraid to describe their position at length. There are plenty of forums to use today so there's no excuse not to. By the way, Mitt Romney signed the universal health care plan in Massachusetts but he wasn't the archietect. We'll talk about that soon. Next we’ll be talking about John Edward's plan. I’ll close with the last few sentences from Paul Krugman’s article. As you read it, think about what it takes to do what’s right not easy and note the polite use of the word determination.

“It’s good to know that whoever gets the Democratic nomination will run on a very good health care plan. What remains is the question of whether he or she will have the determination to turn that plan into reality.”