The Politics of Healthcare Reform

In early June of this year Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a sweeping piece of legislation with the aim of reforming our current health care system. The “Affordable Health Choices Act” totals more than 615 pages and makes an attempt to bring the nearly 40 million uninsured Americans an affordable way to obtain health insurance. As the bill has passed through the various Senate committee’s it has grown in both length and scope. The most recent iteration, Senator Max Baucus’s proposal, seems to be the plan that the Obama administration wants to push forward into law.

Unfortunately, that’s where the clarity ends. For the past three months liberal Democrats have battled it out with moderate Democrats and Republicans over the airwaves and thousands of ordinary Americans have attended various town hall meetings to voice their concern over the proposed bill. All summer, speculation has driven wild rumors of death panels and single-payer systems but little has actually come out about what the final bill will contain.

The only obvious aspect of this debate is the disconnect between Congress and the American people. The most recent poll numbers show a growing majority of Americans disapprove of the proposed healthcare reform and an even larger majority of Americans are opposed to the installation of a public insurance option. On September 28th, Rasmussen Reports’ polling showed that 41% of Americans favor the proposed healthcare reform and 56% percent oppose it. These numbers not only reflect the American people’s frustration with the current administration’s healthcare reform proposal, but growing frustration with a string of government actions. Declining approval ratings for both the administration and Congress support the growing opinion that Americans are disillusioned with the aggressive spending of the last several months. Most Americans are smart enough to know that we are in the process of writing a check that will be awfully painful to cash down the road.

In the end, this issue will be decided in Congress, as it is in most American homes, on party lines. Most Liberal Democrats support the President and the healthcare reform proposal. Moderate Democrats and nearly all Republicans oppose the bill. And while most Americans fall into the latter category, we managed to vote a liberal Congress and President into office with enough votes to do as the see fit regardless of public opinion. Reports over the last month have noted that the administration is prepared to move forward with healthcare reform without any support from the Republican Party, which it seems they are unlikely to receive.

In the end, passing the bill will come with a price tag. In many of the upcoming senate and gubernatorial races early poling shows that Republican candidates are winning more support. The truth is that any Republican Party opposition will be weak over the next few years while the party searches for a message that the American people will trust, but they can certainly take advantage of the backlash of opinion against the Obama administration and Congress’s liberal spending tactics.

Source

http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20090609/NEWS/906099972

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/health/policy/05health.html?bl&ex=1252296000&en=aca08736a6e52505&ei=5087%0A

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/baucus-to-press-ahead-with-senate-proposal/

http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/10/news/economy/healthcare_defensive_medicine/?postversion=2009091010

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/september_2009/health_care_reform