President Obama is trying just about anything these days to get out his word for “Why We Need Health Care Reform,” including an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times.
While he is predicting that "In the coming weeks, the cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain,” President Obama is more concerned about “the prospect of doing nothing." In an attempt to be separated from the failed attempts at health care reform “President Barack Obama's administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system.” Usually, Sunday media coverage is only a gauge of how Americans and opponents would respond.
As a result, the Obama administration Sunday noted the idea of “a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan.” The impact of such a suggestion however has not been publicized much up until this point, and it is unclear whether the Congressional Budget Office or any other government agencies have projected the outcome such a compromise would have on the overall cost of the bill. Of course that has been the trend for the 111th Congress since it began its first session: Spend money, hope it works, and then read the bill.
Adding to Obama’s choir, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius “said that the government alternative to private health insurance is not the essential element of the administration's health care overhaul.” She even added that the “White House would be open to co-ops.” In political terms, what Americans must realize is that although compromise may often mean bipartisanship, compromise also signals that something was done wrong.
Accordingly, Senator Kent Conrad, (D-N.D.) has proposed “consumer-owned nonprofit cooperatives that would sell insurance in competition with private industry, not unlike the way electric and agriculture co-ops operate.” Moreover, the plan would operate with “$3 billion to $4 billion in initial support from the government,” and would operate under a national structure with state affiliates but independent of the government. Additionally, these affiliates “would still be required to maintain the type of financial reserves that private companies are required to keep in case of unexpectedly high claims.”
Ultimately, wavering signs of public approval not only for health care reform, but the public option as well are pushing Obama and his administration to compromise. Thankfully, that is the way Democracy works. Hopefully the continued focus on the rushed nature of health care reform will make sure that all Americans will support health care reform if and when a final bill comes out. Until then, “the people have spoken.”