Eagle Editorial Board
Barack Obama is determined to be the president who "solved" the health care problem in America, but his all-or-nothing approach has proved unpalatable to the majority of Americans -- and possibly could cause health care reform to go down in defeat one more time.
Even as he faces recalcitrant Republicans, waffling Democrats and an increasingly angry public, the president is pushing harder and harder to get the monumental -- and monumentally bad -- health care bill through Congress on an obscure parliamentary maneuver.
Exactly what is in the bill? Who will it help -- and, more importantly, who will it hurt? How much will it cost? Does anyone really know the answer to these and so many other important questions?
Apparently not, and therein lies the problem. The bill is so massive and overreaching that no one understands its full ramifications. The cost of the bill is estimated to be anywhere from $875 billion to $1 trillion over the next decade, but with tinkering by lawmakers still going on, the price tag varies almost daily.
Most Americans who have health insurance are pretty happy with it, although most worry about the cost of health care, which keeps going up and up and up. More and more of us cannot afford the increased costs and more and more businesses, which bear the brunt of the increases, simply can no longer afford to cover their employees. And, far too many Americans have no access to insurance at all.
There definitely is a problem, and it does need to be fixed. But the president has gone about solving the problem in the wrong way, particularly at a time when the country is dealing with a financial crisis that has yet to be solved, although things are beginning to turn around.
The best thing the president and the Democrats in Congress could do would be drop the current health care bill. It tries to do too much with too many unknowns. It lacks the support of the Republicans and the folks outside of Washington for whom the bill is intended -- support that is critical if health reform is to be successful.
Rather than the all-at-once attempt to fix health care, a more measured approach relying on smaller fixes over a period of time would be more acceptable.
Perhaps Congress could first address the insurance problem, ensuring that people can take their health insurance with them when they change jobs or move. Lawmakers should look at allowing insurance companies to sell insurance across state lines, allowing greater competition between companies that could very well lower health care premiums. And a way must be found to allow those who truly cannot afford health care insurance to get coverage.
At the same time, Congress should look at legitimate tort reform. There has to be a way to eliminate frivolous lawsuits without hampering the ability of those who have truly been the victims of malpractice to get full and fair compensation for their injuries.
Both steps would have a huge impact on the cost and availability of health care. From there, Congress could begin to look at other areas of health care, a step at a time.
However it is done, it is imperative that health care reform be a truly bipartisan effort. This isn't a Democratic issue, nor is it a Republican issue. The two parties must work together, must be willing to compromise to enact fair and effective legislation that, after some 60 years of trying, will "fix" health care for all Americans.
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