The Health-Care Debate is Getting Hot

President Obama says he wants a health-care bill this year, but he says he wants bipartisan support for the bill he gets.  He told the Washington Post’s , David Broder, that he would rather have an 85% satisfactory bill that gets 70 votes in the Senate, than a 100% satisfactory bill that passes the senate 52 to 48.  This makes a great deal of sense because once the bill passes there will be a difficult adjustment period, where no doubt a number of problems will arise.  Having a solid bipartisan majority in the senate will help work through those problems.

There is a fair amount of bipartisan support for an overhaul of our medical care delivery, but there are sticking points between Republicans and Democrats.  One key issue is controlling costs.  Republicans want a bill that does not add to the deficit in the long-term (Both sides know that some deficit spending will be required at the outset of any medical-care overhaul).  However, there are some proposals that do not involve long-term deficit spending. 

One such proposal is sponsored by Senator Ron Wayden (Democrat) and Bob Bennett (Republican).  Their bill, according to the Washington Post, would provide portable, affordable health insurance to every American.  Individuals would be required to purchase private health-care insurance, with some subsidies from employers and government.  This program would be, according to independent auditors, self-financing after a short transition period. 

The most intense debate, however, is between those who want a government-sponsored option and those who want the system that uses only private insurers.  Senator Ted Kennedy and other liberals favor the government-sponsored option and Obama has said he could support it.  However, Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee had said that this option is a non-starter. 

Senate liberals say the government option will keep pressure on private insurance companies and help keep medical costs down, while conservatives say they will fight to the last person to prevent passing a government-run plan.  According to Broder, conservatives see the issue as a “broad philosophical debate about the role of government.” 

Broder says that “Obama may have to demonstrate his flexibility on the issue of a government-run plan.”  But, Obama has shown flexibility in the past, so I’m confident that liberals and conservatives will be able to work out their differences and get a satisfactory bill to the President before 2009 is over.