Campaigning for Health Care Reform
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama went to Annandale, Virginia to continue his push for health care reform. I haven't been in a house with a television for nearly a year, so watching the President on CNN instead of YouTube was definitely a change (I loved how there were three tickers simultaneously giving us unnecessary news.... can anyone say 'information overload'?). As I was watching President Obama, I was struck, once again, by his unrivaled oratory skills and ability to work a crowd. He was cracking jokes (mostly at his own expense) and consoling people in the crowd, all while peddling his vision for the future of health care.
The speech itself was fairly straightforward. Obama hit all of the same points he's made countless times now:
- There are 46 million uninsured individuals in the United States
- Entitlement costs will soon be the federal government's greatest expense
- Insurance companies are already adding to premiums to cover the costs of accidents involving uninsured parties
- The solution must be deficit neutral and it must happen in the next year
The solution President Obama proposes (a public option provided by the federal government to compete with the insurance companies) was also laid out:
- Hospitals should digitize medical records to reduce medical errors and confusion
- Preventative medicine must be a focus
- There must be a change of incentives for the medical community. Expensive tests are not always necessary to ensure the best care.
- A public option would force insurance companies to offer competitive prices while keeping a majority of our current insurance/medical system in place
A large part of the President's focus was on the most important part of health care reform, at least in many American citizens' eyes: $$$$$. How does the administration propose to afford this sweeping reform? President Obama's response? Two-thirds of the costs will covered by reallocating money that will become unnecessary as our health care system evolves. Already, $950 billion over the next 10 years has been found using this method. The other one-third? President Obama proposed to cap the itemized deductions available to individuals making more than $250,000/year. That sound you hear? Wealthy Americans everywhere calling their congressmen.
There was so much more in this speech that I want to cover and discuss, but it's drawing close to the Fourth of July weekend, and my ability to provide a concise analysis of all these topics while popping off pithy comments is about nil at the moment. Next week, however, I'll be focusing on this topic in depth, and what it means for the future of medicine.
