Posted by Shyam Moondra
President Obama did a good job in outlining his health care plan in an address to the joint session of the Congress last night. The speech was well crafted and effectively delivered. Now the ball is in the court of the Congress that must deliver the legislation by the end of the year.
Prior to this address to the Congress, Obama was steadily losing ground in terms of public opinion because of his aloofness from the legislative process that many viewed as exhibiting lack of leadership. Also, his inadequate engagement with the Congress led to a lot of misinformation propagated by those, primarily conservative Republicans, who wanted to kill the initiative altogether.
This is what I liked in Obama's speech:
1. He articulated clearly that something had to be done on health care this year or else the whole economy will suffer in the long-term.
2. For the first time, he talked about tort reform that is essential to stop over-prescription of tests and treatments. The doctors and hospitals tend to order excessive tests and treatments just to protect themselves from potential malpractice lawsuits. These excessive tests and treatments significantly add to the cost of health care. The trial lawyers, who contribute heavily to the Democratic Party, generally oppose any changes in the malpractice laws; therefore, it was significant that Obama brought it up in his speech.
3. His three examples of how the late Sen. Ted Kennedy partnered with the prominent Republican senators to pass health care laws for children were particularly effective. Those examples will sway the attitude of many moderate Republicans who will now work harder to pass the health care legislation this year.
4. He successfully laid to rest misunderstandings about "death panels," government plan coverage for abortions, and the government plan driving insurance companies out of business - conservative Republicans had been using these misunderstandings to drive the public opinion against the health care reforms.
5. The government option will be started in a limited way, accounting for less than 5% of the total population.
6. The reasons for making health care coverage mandatory (just as most states require all drivers to buy no-fault car insurance) were explained better than before.
7. The proposed plan will be paid for without adding to the budget deficit.
8. He stated that he was open to adopting any new innovative ideas, Republican or Democrat, to make his proposed plan better.
This is what I didn't like in Obama's speech:
1. He listed three main goals of his plan: reduce the ranks of uninsureds, stop insurance abuses, and reduce costs. During the campaign, he always emphasized reducing costs as the primary goal of reforms, which I thought was right on the mark. If health care costs are brought down, many uninsureds will be able to afford to buy insurance and thus the problem of uninsureds will go away over time.
2. His price tag for the plan, $900 billions over ten years, will continue to turn off conservative Republicans and Democrats, especially at a time when federal budget deficit is running at record levels. Most Americans think that any tax increases should be used to reduce budget deficit and not for starting a new entitlement program.
Overall, Obama's speech was very helpful to Americans in understanding clearly what he was proposing and why. I am very optimistic that his speech will prod Democrats and Republicans to work together and hammer out a health care reform bill before the end of this year. Should Congress fail to pass a health care bill this year, Republicans will be blamed for this failure and they will pay a price in the mid-term elections of 2010.
