Health Reform — temperatures rising
Remember Monte Hall and Let’s Make a Deal? Behind No. 1, door No. 2 or door No. 3. Behind door No. 1 is the path to political nirvana — health Care reform. Behind door No. 2 is political hell — socialized medicine. And behind door No. 3 is — a mirror. Somewhat facetiously stated. What is the mirror all about? It is — you and I. A collective look at ourselves and how we can decide make a better future. Remember, that was the Woodstock dream. A new nation.
We need to seriously contemplate our devolving state of health and well being.
August Recess Health Care Update
Congress is in August recess. Hot as a pistol in Washington, DC.
Where are we this week? All the players have staked their positions. The president and the administration have not articulated a definitive plan. They have offered a dreamy vision. As we have noted, both strategically and rhetorically, this vision keeps evolving. Most recently, the focus has shifted to insurance reform. An easier sell. As one commentator said this Sunday, “nobody likes their insurance company.”
Who are the players? The President and the Administration, the Democratic Congress, the Republican Congress, health insurance companies, Big Pharma, labor unions and … the mobilized masses … the pitchfork crazies and the outspoken talk radio infotainers.
Harry and Louise have been resurrected. This time they are promoting health care coverage. Why do you think they have changed their minds? Remember, the large insurance carriers and Big Pharma will not lose.
More economic thoughts
It is difficult staying focused.
What is the Democratic message? We know the Republican message. What is the goal?
Representative Henry Waxman was featured on the on The daily Show with Jon Stewart last night. He was asked a simple question — what is the plan? What is the goal? A series of litanies followed without a crisp, definitive answer.
Initially it was about covering 40+ million Americans who are currently uninsured. But the nagging question, how this will be funded, shifted the focus. More discussion follows. Cost cutting. Cutting waste, fraud and abuse. All the old litanies.
Health Care reform: shifting sands
Watch the bouncing ball. In an earlier post I cautioned my gentle readers to keep your eye on the ball. A difficult task.
What is the goal?
The goal started with a political strategy and calculation based on a lofty ideal. Cover everybody. It is becoming clearer to more people that coverage alone does not guarantee access nor quality. Does universal coverage remain the goal? Or universal access? At what cost?
Now the debate shifts even more subtly to insurance reform. That is probably where the debate should have started. Remember, I cautioned in some previous posts that the insurance giants and Big Pharma will not lose. They are the Titans that no one wanted to challenge.
CNBC Meeting of the Minds (Health Care)
Billed as the Meeting of the Minds, a roundtable discussion hosted by Maria Bartiromo. Attended by Dr. J. James Rohack, MD, President of the AMA; Angela F. Braly, CEO of Wellpoint (Blue Cross); Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic; ex-Senator Bill Frist, M.D.; Michael Milken; Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of Michegan; and John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., CEO of Eli Lilly. You can see the range and diversity of opinions and philosophies. There was no one unifying concept. Enlist this panel to draft special legislation and you would be hard-pressed to see a consensus statement. Let’s discuss this further in the next thread.
America’s health care system is on the verge of a massive transformation, fueling a debate that has pitted neighbor against neighbor, patients against insurers, and the haves against the have-nots. We’ve demanded reform, but now that reform is raising more questions than answers.
In “Meeting of the Minds: The Future of Health Care” hosted by CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, CNBC assembles some of the biggest names in the industry and government to advance the conversation and propose solutions to America’s health care crisis. Will universal access lead to lower quality of care? Will our efforts to health care for all stifle business and put America at a disadvantage in the global arena? And what will American health care look like for the next generation?
What is the goal? A healthier nation? More coverage? Better Access? Cost containment? How about improved quality of care? A new paradigm …
Health care reform weekly wrap-up
This is worth studying – from the Wall Street Journal. This is not new. It is not driven by the current economic crisis. Keep your eye on the ball and watch the money. This dynamic duo will not lose — large insurance companies and big Pharma. That’s why Harry and Louise now favor a new plan.
Also required viewing is Marcia Angell interviewed on this weeks Bill Moyer’s Journal. She fears a bad plan is worse than no plan at all. Reference her past accomplishments as Editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and author of The Truth about the Drug Companies: How they deceive us and what to do about it.
Hillary Clinton was interviewed on Meet the Press. David Axelrod on Face the Nation. Not very convincing as he trys to answer the unanswerable. How to fund the grand plan. Watch Jim Cooper, who follows. He may be the weatherman. [unless you remember Dylan’s most favorite line … from Subterranean Homesick Blues]
end game or round 2
It has come to this. This deadline will come and pass. It will not be met. What happened?
Strategically, to frame health care reform as the defining and pivotal achievement of this administration was a setup. The new administration entered under a wave of jubilation and hope. I shared these sentiments.
In 1964, Lyndon Johnson entered the office of the presidency with a mandate for change. A mandate to finish what had been started in the three previous years under an inspiring but a feckless young president. Johnson was the consummate politician. He knew how to twist arms. He knew the Senate intimately. As so aptly put by Linton Weeks of NPR:
President Johnson was famous for staring down, shaming, cajoling, strong-arming, coaxing, sweet-talking legislators into doing his bidding. Johnson spoke directly to lawmakers. Sometimes very directly. Through manhandling and manipulation, Johnson was able to push through legislation affecting public health for the elderly, fair housing, voting rights and other programs that brought sweeping social change.
Obama came in with a new agenda. This was to be the reincarnation of Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi. Leading by example. Without rancor. But Washington is a shark tank.
Celestial Interlude — 40th Anniversary
The Challenge is set:
Celestial wonders — an interlude
Sweeping across Asia …