Washington Wisdumb
Posted by Chris Martin at 1/24/2010 10:13 AM 
Categories: The Press, Health policy, Thinking Inside the Beltway, biPartisanship
Tags: Yes he really said that
Categories: The Press, Health policy, Thinking Inside the Beltway, biPartisanship
Tags: Yes he really said that
Ron Elving - NPR Washington editor - has some advice for the President on the Health Care Debacle.
Which would not be to pass the current Senate version of the Health Reform Bill through the House and sign it into law but instead - I paraphrase here because I lack a transcript:
Reopen discussions with the original interest groups, health insurers, hospitals, drug companies and so on. This would remind them why they supported the bill in the first place and presumably correct some of the problems that they might have had with it.
Their support could be secured with additional assurances. Maybe the maximum out of pocket on health insurance plans could be raised, maybe the law could allow insurance companies to set lifetime maximums on coverage, perhaps drug companies could be granted extended protection from competition on their brand name drugs.
Meanwhile other interest groups like the Catholic Church and the right to life movement could be pacified by forbidding any health insurer to pay for any abortion or setting up special end of life panels that made sure that every possible effort was made to extend the lives of the unconscious and those in excessive pain.
Wonks Anonymous fully expects that this would take another six months of intensive semi-public horse trading. He is certain that this would restore the public trust which was lost by - wait a minute - six months of semi-public horse trading.
Meanwhile Ron thinks that the Republicans will become more responsible now that they have 41 votes. It seems that they just felt left out and will come around now that they have some real power and they see that all of the interest groups are aligned behind the bill. Meanwhile Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman will become team players as well.
As for the public - who Elving acknowledges have turned against the bill because they are disgusted with all the delay, grandstanding and blatant pandering to special interests. If they knew what was good for them they would love whatever they got and support the reform.
Or they might just vote Republican and Ron Elving could do what he does best, telling the tale of clever Republicans who connect with the people and impotent, out of touch Democrats.
Memo to The President: These people are not your friends. No matter what you do they will never be your friends. Trying to please them only makes you look like an idiot.
Which would not be to pass the current Senate version of the Health Reform Bill through the House and sign it into law but instead - I paraphrase here because I lack a transcript:
Reopen discussions with the original interest groups, health insurers, hospitals, drug companies and so on. This would remind them why they supported the bill in the first place and presumably correct some of the problems that they might have had with it.
Their support could be secured with additional assurances. Maybe the maximum out of pocket on health insurance plans could be raised, maybe the law could allow insurance companies to set lifetime maximums on coverage, perhaps drug companies could be granted extended protection from competition on their brand name drugs.
Meanwhile other interest groups like the Catholic Church and the right to life movement could be pacified by forbidding any health insurer to pay for any abortion or setting up special end of life panels that made sure that every possible effort was made to extend the lives of the unconscious and those in excessive pain.
Wonks Anonymous fully expects that this would take another six months of intensive semi-public horse trading. He is certain that this would restore the public trust which was lost by - wait a minute - six months of semi-public horse trading.
Meanwhile Ron thinks that the Republicans will become more responsible now that they have 41 votes. It seems that they just felt left out and will come around now that they have some real power and they see that all of the interest groups are aligned behind the bill. Meanwhile Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman will become team players as well.
As for the public - who Elving acknowledges have turned against the bill because they are disgusted with all the delay, grandstanding and blatant pandering to special interests. If they knew what was good for them they would love whatever they got and support the reform.
Or they might just vote Republican and Ron Elving could do what he does best, telling the tale of clever Republicans who connect with the people and impotent, out of touch Democrats.
Memo to The President: These people are not your friends. No matter what you do they will never be your friends. Trying to please them only makes you look like an idiot.
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