Pushing Universal Health Care

Despite a buckling financial system, an economy essentially in recession and a federal government that continues to add billions to its budget deficit, Democrats in Congress and in President-elect’s transition team are salivating over the prospect of even more government expansion; this time in the guise of “reforming” health care. 

The shortcomings here are obvious to anyone paying attention.  Government interference in the mortgage industry, in the name of “fairness” via the CRA, hasn’t fared so well, has it?  But reality will not stop self-aggrandizing lawmakers in Washington, especially those fresh off an election where they insist the people demanded “change”.  Don’t look now, but here comes a big, BIG push for universal health care.

Sen. Max Baucus of Montana got the ball rolling last week when his office released his white paper outlining his proposal:

Without waiting for President-elect Barack Obama, Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, will unveil a detailed blueprint on Wednesday to guarantee health insurance for all Americans by facilitating sales of private insurance, expanding Medicaid and Medicare, and requiring most employers to provide or pay for health benefits.

Every American has a right to affordable, high-quality health care,” Mr. Baucus said. “Americans cannot wait any longer.” Far from being a distraction from efforts to revive the economy, he said, “health reform is an essential part of restoring America’s economy and maintaining our competitiveness.”

Mr. Baucus would create a nationwide marketplace, a “health insurance exchange,” where people could compare and buy insurance policies.

So, according to Senator Baucus, every American now has the “right” to affordable, high-quality health-care.  As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, these are ominous words.  His proposal would eventually require everyone to be insured.  And who will monitor the “health insurance exchange”?  How will it be funded?

Not to be outdone, Ted Kennedy, who had been convalescing after brain surgery earlier this year, jumped into the pool and engaged fellow senators to join in the fun:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who made clear that universal healthcare is his top priority when he returned to work Monday in the Senate, announced today that three working groups of the committee he heads will explore key issues.

One group, led by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, will work on prevention and public health. Another led by Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland will work on improvements in the quality of care. And the third, led by Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, will work on insurance coverage.

 Tom Harkin, Barbara Mikulski and Hillary Clinton.  Enough said.

Aides to Obama have welcomed Congressional input on ideas for health care reform.  And the recent trouble in the financial market and worsening economic conditions won’t hold the new administration back.  Money is no object.  Obama’s new partisan bulldog is making it clear:

President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming White House chief of staff challenged chief executives and other business leaders Tuesday night to join the new administration in a push for universal health care, saying incremental increases in coverage won’t be acceptable.

“When it gets rough out there, a lot of business leaders get out of the car and say, ‘We’re OK with minor reform.’ I’m challenging you today, we’re going to have to do big, serious things,”

He stressed that the new administration would “throw long and deep,” taking advantage of the economic crisis to push wholesale changes in health care, taxes, financial re-regulation and energy. “The American people in two successive elections have voted for change, and change cannot be allowed to die on the doorsteps of Washington,” Mr. Emanuel said.

Earlier this week, Tom Daschle was offered, and accepted, the post of Health and Human Services Secretary.  Its not a secret that the former Senate majority leader favors universal health care.  But unlike the health care battle of the early Clinton Administration, which was cloaked in secrecy and ran up against massive opposition from private industry, Daschle could represent a change in this new fight. 

Daschle has spent the last four years working for a prominent law firm whose lobbying clients cater to…?  Yes, the health care industry.  Some of the prominent names are HealthSouth and Abbott Labs; you know, the big industry types the left like to cry and scream about.  Yeah, yeah, he’s not a registered lobbyist, but he might as well be. 

And another interesting fact about Tom Daschle?  He’s a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, the left wing, extremist think tank which supports a no-holds barred approach to implementing universal health care, and is led by John Podesta.  The same John Podesta, who is currently making a living leading the Obama transition team.  

Liberals like to point out that the United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t provide national health insurance for its citizens.  The implication here is that it’s the correct way to be.  But is it prudent?  England has had public funded health care since 1946, administered by their National Health Service, which provides a model similar to what’s being proposed by the Baucus, Kennedy and other liberals here in the USA.  The issues that the Brits are dealing with are not pretty.  The liberals’ obsession with government expansion and intervention in the private sector is disturbing; they never seem to understand the practical effects that their misadventures have on people.   Doctors and physicians are already feeling the squeeze of burdensome paperwork and bureaucratic red tape, which is chasing them out of their practices:

A U.S. shortage of 35,000 to 40,000 primary care physicians by 2025 was predicted at last week’s American Medical Association annual meeting.  In the survey, the foundation sent questionnaires to more than 150,000 doctors nationwide.  Of the 12,000 respondents, 49 percent said they’d consider leaving medicine. Many said they are overwhelmed with their practices, not because they have too many patients, but because there’s too much red tape generated from insurance companies and government agencies.

Dr. Alan Pocinki has been practicing medicine for 17 years. He began his career around the same time insurance companies were turning to the PPO and HMO models. So he was a little shocked when he began spending more time on paperwork than patients and found he was running a small business, instead of a practice. He says it’s frustrating.

One of President-elect Barack Obama’s health carepromises is to provide a primary care physician for every American. But some health experts, including Pocinki, are skeptical.

“People who have insurance can’t find a doctor, so suddenly we are going to give insurance to a whole bunch of people who haven’t had it, without increasing the number of physicians?” he says. “It’s going to be a problem.”

And the liberal response: ‘Let’s impose more bureaucracy, more red tape’, becasue that is essentially what the Senators’ and Obama’s plans will do, and Its becoming apparent that the liberal fringe of the Democrat party are taking over its Congressional caucus.  With a willing accomplice in a liberal Obama administration, the Democrats will have few obstacles as they put forth their agenda for incrementally nationalizing health care.  Do Republicans have the backbone to stand up to this? 

Others:

WSJ: The Obama Health Plan Emerges

Malkin

Explore posts in the same categories: Health Care

Tags: Barack Obama, health care reform, Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, Max Baucus, National Health Service, nationalized healthcare, Rahm Emmanuel, Ted Kennedy, Tom Daschle, Universal Health Care

You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.