HEALTHCARE REFORM
Where Healthcare Goes After Massachusetts
Podcast: January 25, 2010
The Burrill Report (January 25, 2010): Where Healthcare Reform Goes After Massachusetts (.MP3,11.33 Mb)
Not long ago it seemed healthcare reform legislation was sure to be signed, sealed and delivered in time for President Obama’s State of the Union address. But the dramatic upset in Massachusetts that has resulted in Republican Scott Brown winning the seat held by long-time healthcare reform advocate Ted Kennedy has thrown the Democrats plan on its head as Brown represents the 41st vote for the Republicans, which gives them the ability to shut down the legislation. We spoke to Peter Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest about where the Democrats went wrong, what Brown’s election means for healthcare reform and where we go from here.TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
COMMENTS
hitekmastr January 25, 2010
The priorities when President Obama took office were: 1) Reduce the trillion dollar deficit created in the Bush administration and 2) do something to resolve our military presence in Iraq (which was never a threat to the U.S. by the way while Afghanistan-based terrorists did kill over 3,000 Americans).
President Obama - one of the best educated and most thoughtful, heavily mandated presidents in decades - chose instead to 1) bail out the dysfunctional banking system with no strings attached, and 2) focus on Healthcare (a budget buster).
And, like many presidents before him, is forced to stay the course in an inherited war in a country that did not harm us, and did not have WMDs or strong Al Qaeda ties.
So now the President finds himself in a classic trap. He plunged into his own agenda before addressing the people's agenda (jobs, credit, loan liquidity, etc.) and the actions taken to help the economy were to give taxpayer funds to banks without requiring the banks to make loans or provide credit or rescue mortgages.
Remember the phrase, "It's the economy, stupid!" Or "It's the wrong war, general!"
Getting priorities in synch with public needs is government's major challenge. I hope President Obama gets in synch so his considerable skills can be applied to the nation's most pressing problems.
michaelmdurand January 25, 2010
Peter-- Conservatives have always done a better job in framing the message. "Socializing medicine," "telling doctors how to practice..." "gut Medicare" all sound like pretty scary stuff. Not necessarily accurate, but scary.
Like it or not, the Senate plan would have helped provide health security to countless Americans. I truly hope that the Republicans will work with the Administration on the next iteration of reform in an honest, "lets get it done" fashion. On that, I hope we agree.
More on my blog tomorrow.
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