Reacton to Obama's health care reform proposal

Written by: Matt Keating on Jun 4, 2009 5:00 AM EDT

President Barack Obama unveiled his health care plan earlier this week and in the world of activists, organizers, policy wonks, bloggers, lobbyists, insiders and outsiders, we're off!

In 2007, somewhere on the campaign trail, then Senator Obama announced: "The real profit today is made in treating diseases, not preventing them. That's wrong, which is why in our new national health care plan and other participating plans, we will require coverage of evidence-based, preventive care services, and make sure they are paid for."

On Tuesday, June 2, Obama sent his "new national health care plan" to Senator Kennedy and Senator Baucus citing, "In 2009, health care reform is not a luxury. It's a necessity we cannot defer." 

The growing necessity to many outside of Washington is to engage in a single payer health care system that, admittedly, seems ideal, wonderful, Euro-tastic. (And I truly wish we could see such a sweeping health care industry reform in my lifetime.) But, as our pragmatic 44th U.S. President is well aware: You can't let the perfect become the enemy of the good.

SP is a great goal. Yet President Obama and his House allies have embraced a public option health care reform proposal that advocates should applaud. Elements of the president's proposal mirror the SP/Medicare-like merits that are far from discriminatory. Conversely, the proposal includes an option for Americans to retain their existing coverage which refrains from crippling the insurance industry and in these crunching economic times, even I can see that seems most wise.

I certainly doubt anyone I know would ever "fan" an insurance industry on Facebook. But citing a little bit of important Connecticut whaling history from the floor of the House yesterday, Rep. Courtney (D-CT) noted, "We have an insurance system that has run-a-muck. We are not about dismantling it in total, but are about going to its roots and getting back to its basic principles."

"Triggers" in regards to policing the insurance industry for a period of 7(?) years, however, appears problematic at best. Whether one is a single payer advocate, public option supporter or a health care reform activist in general, the consensus seems to be: The insurance industry is shady - beyond shady.

Beware.

Back to the relatively good news. "All of these plans," Obama writes, "Should include an affordable basic benefit package that includes prevention and protection against catastrophic costs. I strongly believe that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans."

We desperately need a preventative health care system based on equality, openness, transparency, and fair access that, as Obama mentions, studies "best practices" and embraces serious well-care coverage.

As President Obama wisely recognizes, "We simply cannot afford to postpone health care reform any longer."

This is the year we will get this done. Health care reform is, after all, American reform.

-Matt Keating

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/The-President-Spells-Out-His-Vision-on-Health-Care-Reform/

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